The synthesis of phospholipids 1n-3n, rationally designed for two-dimensional crystallization of progesterone and estrddiol receptors, is reported. The structure of these lipids provides them with essential properties such as fluidity and stability when spread into monolayers at the air/H20 interface, affinity for the protein to be crystallized, and accessibility of the ligand under the lipid monolayer.Introduction. -For a better understanding of enzymatic mechanisms and biological activities, knowledge of the three-dimensional (3D) structures of the macromolecules involved in these processes could be of value. Structural approaches using X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) need several milligrams (10-100 mg) of the highly purified protein (up to 95-98% pure). In the last ten years, a combination of two-dimensional (2D) crystallization and electron-microscopy techniques led to structure elucidation of proteins with resolution comparable to those reached by X-ray crystallography [l-141. This new approach requires only a few micrograms of partially purified biological material and allows the study of very high molecular weight proteins, whether they are soluble or not.2D Crystallization of proteins can be induced using lipid layers. The lipid, whose polar head is attached to a specific hgdnd of the protein, is allowed to spread at the air/H,O interface of a microvolume (typically 15 pl) of a buffered solution of the protein (Figs. l a and l b ) . Molecular recognition of the ligand by the protein results in placing the macromolecules in a plane with an orientation identical to that of its neighbours, except by rotation (axis perpendicular to the plane; F i g . 1~) . Due to the properties of the phospholipid (monolayer fluidity and stability) and those of the aqueous phase (ionic strength, pH, nature of ions in solution), protein-lipid complexes interacting one on each other (electrostatic interactions, H-bonds, hydrophobic insertions) move in rotation and translation to form 2D arrays of the protein (Fig. Id). These protein arrays are studied by electron microscopy, and after image processing, the 3D structure of the macromolecule can be obtained.In order to study the structure of steroid-hormone binding receptors, we synthesized molecules 1n-3fl whose structure confer to them specific physical and biological characteristics (Fig. 2). One of the most important points in the approach is the fluidity of the lipid film. Till now, all successfully performed experiments show that 2D crystals can be