Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 7, 2026

Microfluidic Mixers for Studying Protein Folding
Published on: April 10, 2012
Time resolved collapse of a folding protein observed with small angle x-ray scattering
L Pollack1, M W Tate, A C Finnefrock
1Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
Abstract:
High-intensity, "pink" beam from an undulator was used in conjunction with microfabricated rapid-fluid mixing devices to monitor the early events in protein folding with time resolved small angle x-ray scattering. This Letter describes recent work on the protein bovine beta-lactoglobulin where collapse from an expanded to a compact set of states was directly observed on the millisecond time scale. The role of chain collapse, one of the initial stages of protein folding, is not currently understood. The characterization of transient, compact states is vital in assessing the validity of theories and models of the folding process.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Folding
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
Protein Folding
Protein Folding
Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding
The...
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...

