Mimicking Nature: Models of Lipid Membranes Created with the Langmuir Monolayer Technique: A Review of Lipid Membrane Composition.

The Langmuir monolayer technique has proven to be an effective method for constructing lipid-based models of cell membranes. Compared to other artificial membrane systems, such as liposomes or supported lipid bilayers, it offers a relatively simple and versatile approach to reconstructing lipid components of biological membranes and systematically modifying their composition. The technique allows precise control over experimental parameters such as surface pressure and temperature, which influence the physical state and organization of lipid monolayers. Lipid monolayer models are widely used to investigate molecular interactions at membrane interfaces, including the effects of biomolecules or xenobiotics on membrane properties, identification of potential molecular targets of drugs, and evaluation of mechanisms underlying their pharmacological activity or toxicity. While the successful application of the monolayer technique in lipid membrane modeling has been extensively reported in the literature, comprehensive discussions of lipid compositions for modeling various membrane types-such as eukaryotic, prokaryotic, viral, and pathological membranes-remain limited. In particular, systematic descriptions of lipid mixtures used to model membranes characteristic of eukaryotic cells, prokaryotes, viruses, or pathological states are limited. The aim of this review is to address this gap by summarizing lipid compositions used in Langmuir monolayer models designed to mimic different biological membrane types.