Glycosphingolipid arrangement and dynamics in membranes.

We have demonstrated the impressive power of the ?H n.m.r. method to yield useful data on the conformational and dynamic aspects of glycolipids in aqueous multilamellar dispersions, a situation mimicking that found in biological membranes. Are we ready to approach the true biological situation'? We believe that the answer is yes. We are beginning with lectin-lipid association, as a precursor to the study of antigenic recognition of carbohydrate antigens on the cell surface. The chemistry of label incorporation is more complex, but can be done by careful choice of oligo827