Advances in Membrane Proteins

Dear Colleagues,

The structure and activity of membrane proteins within biological membranes govern key behaviors, from regulating transmembrane voltage and the action potential, to signaling and molecular transport. Understanding the structure–activity relationships of these proteins within the milieu of native-like bilayers is required to fully ascertain the how these systems govern human health, act as drug-targetable systems of pathogenic organisms, and lead to the development of novel membrane-targeted therapies. Established and emerging biophysical techniques, including liquid- and solid-state NMR (ssNMR), Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), cryo Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM), X-ray crystallography, Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), and Fluorescence Spectroscopy have made invaluable contributions to understanding native membrane protein dynamic structures, lipid–protein and lipid–lipid interactions, and long-range membrane organization. In addition, computational approaches and the molecular-dynamics of membranes have provided many novel, key insights into these systems. Despite this, many open questions remain, and new biophysical techniques along with novel applications of existing methods are required to advance these crucial studies.

In this Special Issue of Biomolecules, we invite your contributions, either in the form of original research articles, reviews, or “perspective” articles on all aspects related to the overarching theme of “Advances in biophysical and computational approaches to studying the native behaviors of membrane proteins and biological membrane components.” Articles with novel applications of spectroscopic or microscopic techniques are especially welcome.

Dr. Wylie Benjamin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.