Incorporation of the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase system into large unilamellar liposomes using octylglucoside, especially for measurements of protein diffusion in membranes.

Cytochrome P-450 and NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase were incorporated into large unilamellar lipid vesicles (200-300 nm in diameter) removing octylglucoside from mixed micelles by dialysis. The large size of the protein-containing liposomes guarantees a negligibly small vesicle tumbling. Such large vesicles are better suited for studies of protein rotation in reconstituted membranes than vesicles prepared by use of bile salts. At present the octyl-glucoside reconstituted monooxygenase system seems to be the most appropriate model for studying protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions in liver microsomes due to the similarity with respect to the main structural and functional properties, including size.