Dielectric confinement contribution to the folding free energy of transmembrane proteins

We predict that the folding free energy of a transmembrane protein contains a contribution from electromagnetic self-energy that depends on the thickness of the host membrane. The mechanism is dielectric confinement: a lipid bilayer surrounded by water modifies the electromagnetic fluctuation spectrum accessible to a polarizable protein embedded within it. The thickness-dependent component scales as 1/d³, detectable by differential scanning calorimetry. We propose an experimental protocol using the rhomboid protease GlpG reconstituted in five membranes of systematically varying thickness (DLPC to DAPC). Repository includes LaTeX source, compiled PDFs, calculation script, and figures.