Structure Determination of HIV-1 Tat/Fluid Phase Membranes and DMPC Ripple Phase Using X-Ray Scattering

This Thesis in biological physics has two components, describing the use of X-ray scattering techniques to study the structure of two different stacked lipid membrane systems.

The first part focuses on the interaction between a short 11-mer peptide, Tat, which is part of the Tat protein in the HIV-1 virus. Although highly positively charged, the Tat protein has been shown to translocate through hydrocarbon lipid bilayers easily, without requiring the cell’s energy, which is counter to its ...