The concept of a memtein as the minimal unit of membrane function is proposed here, and refers to the complex of a membrane protein together with a continuous layer of biological lipid molecules. The elucidation of the atomic resolution structures and specific interactions within memteins remains technically challenging. Nonetheless, we argue that these entities are critical endpoints for the postgenomic era, being essential units of cellular function that mediate signal transduction and trafficking. Their biological mechanisms and molecular compositions can be resolved using native nanodiscs formed by poly(styrene-co-maleic acid) (SMA) copolymers. These amphipathic polymers rapidly and spontaneously fragment membranes into water-soluble discs holding a section of bilayer. This allows structures of complexes found in vivo to be prepared without resorting to synthetic detergents or artificial lipids. The ex situ structures of memteins can be resolved by methods including cryo-electron microscopy (cEM), X-ray crystallography (XRC), NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). Progress in the field demonstrates that memteins are better representations of how biology actually works in membranes than naked proteins devoid of lipid, spurring on further advances in polymer chemistry to resolve their details.

膜蛋白作为膜功能的最小单位的概念在此提出，它是指膜蛋白与生物脂质分子的连续层一起形成的复合物。阐明分子蛋白内的原子分辨率结构和特定相互作用在技术上仍然具有挑战性。尽管如此，我们认为这些实体是后基因组时代的关键终点，是介导信号转导和运输的细胞功能的基本单位。它们的生物学机制和分子组成可以使用由聚（苯乙烯-马来酸）（SMA）共聚物形成的天然纳米圆片解决。这些两亲性聚合物迅速并自发地将膜破碎成固定有一部分双层的水溶性椎间盘。这允许体内发现复合物的结构无需使用合成洗涤剂或人工脂质即可制备。所述易地memteins的结构可通过方法，包括低温电子显微镜（CEM），X射线晶体学（XRC），NMR光谱法和质谱法（MS）来解决。该领域的进展表明，与没有脂质的裸蛋白相比，memteins更好地代表了生物学在膜中的实际运作方式，这刺激了聚合物化学的进一步发展来解决它们的细节。