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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.01.18.700185

Bifunctional Lipid-Protein Crosslinking Efficiency and Reaction Products

Kirschbaum, C.·Lennartz, H. M.·Cook, K. C.·Böhlig, K.·Papangelis, A.·Robinson, C. V.·Nadler, A.
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Abstract

Bifunctional diazirine lipids are valuable tools for mapping protein-lipid interactions and cellular localization by photocrosslinking. Yet, the crosslinking efficiency of these probes has not been systematically evaluated. Here, we use the lipid transfer protein STARD10, which binds phospholipids in a 1:1 stoichiometry within a hydrophobic pocket, to measure the upper limit of the photo-crosslinking efficiency of bifunctional lipid probes. We characterize reaction products using native and denaturing mass spectrometry. Our results show that approximately 5% of photoactivated lipids form covalent protein-lipid crosslinks, while the majority follow intramolecular reaction trajectories, resulting in the formation of products featuring alkene, ketone and hydroxyl moieties. These findings provide essential context for the use of bifunctional probes to uncover the cell biology of lipids and highlight the need for continuous improvement to experimental workflows. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=104 SRC="FIGDIR/small/700185v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (18K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@15d1641org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6024e0org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1503dcorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b067bd_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

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Kirschbaum, C., Lennartz, H. M., Cook, K. C., Böhlig, K., Papangelis, A., Robinson, C. V., Nadler, A.. 2026-01-21. Bifunctional Lipid-Protein Crosslinking Efficiency and Reaction Products. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.18.700185

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