Maltoside
File:Decyl-beta-D-maltoside.svg
A maltoside is a glycoside with maltose as the glycone (sugar) functional group. Among the most common are alkyl maltosides, which contain hydrophobic alkyl chains as the aglycone. Given their amphiphilic properties, these comprise a class of detergents, where variation in the alkyl chain confers a range of detergent properties including CMC and solubility. Maltosides are most often used for the solubilization and purification of membrane proteins.
History
In 1980 Ferguson-Miller et al. at Michigan State developed n-dodecyl-β-D-maltopyranoside (DDM) as part of a successful effort to purify an active, stable, monodisperse form of cytochrome c oxidase.{{cite journal|last1=Rosevear|first1=P|last2=VanAken |first2=T |last3=Baxter |first3=J |last4=Ferguson-Miller |first4=S |title=Alkyl glycoside detergents: a simpler synthesis and their effects on kinetic and physical properties of cytochrome c oxidase.|journal=Biochemistry|date=Aug 19, 1980|volume=19|issue=17|pages=4108–15|pmid=6250583|doi=10.1021/bi00558a032}} Maltosides have been used extensively to stabilize membrane proteins for biophysical and structural studies.