Polymerization mechanism of polypeptide chain aggregation
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026

OaAEP1-Mediated Enzymatic Synthesis and Immobilization of Polymerized Protein for Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy
Published on: February 5, 2020
1Biotechnology Process Engineering Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Abstract:
The misfolding of polypeptide chains and aggregation into the insoluble inclusion body state is a serious problem for biotechnology and biomedical research. Developing a rational strategy to control aggregation requires understanding the mechanism of polymerization. We investigated the in vitro aggregation of P22 tailspike polypeptide chains by classical light scattering, nondenaturing gel electrophoresis, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and computer simulations. The aggregation of polypeptide chains during refolding occurred by multimeric polymerization, in which two multimers of any size could associate to form a larger aggregate and did not require a sequential addition of monomeric subunits. The cluster-cluster polymerization mechanism of aggregation is an important determinant in the kinetic competition between productive folding and inclusion body formation. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 54: 333-343, 1997.
Related Concept Videos
Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism
Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism
Polymers
Polymers
Protein Organization
The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
Protein Organization

