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Updated: Nov 5, 2025

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−
Published on: July 27, 2018
Experimental approaches for investigating ion atmospheres around nucleic acids and proteins
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-1068, USA.
Abstract:
Ionic interactions are crucial to biological functions of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Experimental research on how ions behave around biological macromolecules has lagged behind corresponding theoretical and computational research. In the 21st century, quantitative experimental approaches for investigating ionic interactions of biomolecules have become available and greatly facilitated examinations of theoretical electrostatic models. These approaches utilize anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering, atomic emission spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We provide an overview on the experimental methodologies that can quantify and characterize ions within the ion atmospheres around nucleic acids, proteins, and their complexes.
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