Tools and methods for circular dichroism spectroscopy of proteins: a tutorial review

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Structural Biology
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Background:

• Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a widely-used technique in life sciences.
• Over 24,000 papers in the last decade utilized CD for protein characterization.
• CD is often complemented by chemical, biophysical, and computational methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a tutorial review on Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy.
• To outline best practices for high-quality data collection and analysis.
• To highlight established and novel tools for experimental design, interpretation, and data management.

Main Methods:

• Review of established and new methods for CD spectroscopy.
• Focus on experimental design, data collection, processing, and analysis.
• Integration of tools for enhancing complementarity with other biological studies.

Main Results:

• Comprehensive overview of CD spectroscopy principles and applications.
• Guidance on good practices for reliable data acquisition and interpretation.
• Introduction to modern tools for data processing, visualization, and archiving.

Conclusions:

• CD spectroscopy is a versatile tool in structural and chemical biology.
• Adherence to best practices ensures high-quality data and reliable results.
• New tools enhance the utility and integration of CD with complementary techniques.