what are Challenges for membrane production and characterization?

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Investigating membrane protein structure and function can provide valuable information for drug characterization and optimization, however, such proteins are inherently difficult to purify and characterize. Even when expressed at high levels, the purification can still be challenging. Generally, cellular expression of membrane protein can lead to aggregation and malfunction due to the hydrophobic properties of the transmembrane domain. Detergents are used to stabilize the membrane proteins during purification. But these detergents bring other issues. Detergents with stabilizing power may impair protein crystallization, and they may also contribute to poor sensitivity in NMR and X-ray crystallography studies.