Time-resolved biophysical methods in the study of protein folding

Proteins are chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Upon synthesis, a protein folds into a three-dimensional conformation which is critical to its biological function. Interactions between its constituent amino acids guide protein folding, and hence the protein structure is primarily dependent on its amino acid sequence.Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological FunctionProteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...

Proteins are chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Upon synthesis, a protein folds into a three-dimensional conformation which is critical to its biological function. Interactions between its constituent amino acids guide protein folding, and hence the protein structure is primarily dependent on its amino acid sequence.Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological FunctionProteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...

The native conformation of a protein is formed by interactions between the side chains of its constituent amino acids. When the amino acids cannot form these interactions, the protein cannot fold by itself and needs chaperones. Notably, chaperones do not relay any additional information required for the folding of polypeptides; the native conformation of a protein is determined solely by its amino acid sequence. Chaperones catalyze protein folding without being a part of the folded protein.
The...

Proteins are chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Upon synthesis, a protein folds into a three-dimensional conformation, critical to its biological function. Interactions between its constituent amino acids guide protein folding, and hence the protein structure is primarily dependent on its amino acid sequence.
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...

Different fluorescence-based techniques are used to study the protein dynamics in living cells. These techniques include FRAP, FRET, and PET.
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...

Fast reactions occurring in times shorter than the time needed to mix reactants pose a unique challenge for investigation. In a liquid-phase continuous-flow system, reactants A and B are swiftly pushed into the mixing chamber, where mixing occurs within 1 ms. The reaction mixture then flows through an observation tube, and one measures light absorption to determine species concentrations at various points of the tube. This method is most appropriate when relatively large volumes of reactants...