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Updated: May 12, 2026

Detecting and Characterizing Protein Self-Assembly In Vivo by Flow Cytometry
Published on: July 17, 2019
DNA-mediated assembly of protein heterodimers on membrane surfaces
Michael P Coyle1, Qian Xu, Samantha Chiang
1Department of Chemistry and ‡Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California , Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
Abstract:
We present a method based on self-assembling oligonucleotides to anchor proteins to a supported membrane surface. This anchoring method allows control of the surface density of multiple proteins. By incorporating additional recognition sequences into the DNA linkers, defined heterodimers can be produced upon the addition of a heterospecific DNA cross-linking strand. Characterization by fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS) confirmed lateral mobility and the formation of specific heterodimers. We further demonstrate that proteins linked in this manner as either monomers or dimers can form functional interfaces with living cells.
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