May I ask a question?
This is a catch-22 situation. If you ask permission to ask a question,
you are already asking a question. Answering this with no would
probably create a wormhole. I'd also like to see a bulletin board where
asking questions requires separate permission.
When we prepare lipids, we always used chloroform to dissolve lipids,
then resuspended in buffer. But sometime we can dissolve lipids with
detergent, for example E.coli total lipids. Why we still need to use
chloroform to dissolve it firstly based on standard method?
Chloroform is a good way to store lipids (keep it in -80 to minimize
evaporation, use teflon cap liners, warm up prior to use to avoid water
absorption and top off with argon after each withdrawal). Chloroform
can be easily removed (bulk with gentle stream of argon under the hood
and residual by 1-2 hour dessication under oil pump) and you can then
have a very good control over buffer content (charged lipids will come
with counterions, of course). Thus, it's a very robust general
procedure.
Using detergents to dissolve lipids is much messier, I presume. Of
course, this depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
Cheers,
Ed.
--
Bullseye! Excellent shot, Maurice.
Julian, King of Lemurs.
