Solubilization of isolated central-nervous-system myelin preparations by the amniotic detergent sodium dodecyl sulphate.

The mechanism for the solubilization of isolated central-nervous-system myelin by sodium dodecyl sulphate was studied in detail. The release of protein and phospholipid to the 100000 g x 1 h supernatant fraction is dependent on the total amount of detergent relative to the amount of membrane present and on the ionic strength of the solubilization system. Gel-filtration analysis of supernatant fractions indicate that at suboptimal concentrations of detergent these contain lipid-protein complexes. The complete dissociation of the individual protein components from lipid is dependent on the total amount of sodium dodecyl sulphate present in the system. The results indicate that for the analysis of membrane components in sodium dodecyl sulphate it is essential that sufficient detergent is present.