Issue 14, 2018

On-chip measurements of protein unfolding from direct observations of micron-scale diffusion

Abstract

Investigations of protein folding, unfolding and stability are critical for the understanding of the molecular basis of biological structure and function. We describe here a microfluidic approach to probe the unfolding of unlabelled protein molecules in microliter volumes. We achieve this objective through the use of a microfluidic platform, which allows the changes in molecular diffusivity upon folding and unfolding to be detected directly. We illustrate this approach by monitoring the unfolding of bovine serum albumin in solution as a function of pH. These results show the viability of probing protein stability on chip in small volumes.

Graphical abstract: On-chip measurements of protein unfolding from direct observations of micron-scale diffusion

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
05 Oct 2017
Accepted
09 Feb 2018
First published
09 Feb 2018
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 3503-3507

On-chip measurements of protein unfolding from direct observations of micron-scale diffusion

Y. Zhang, Emma V. Yates, L. Hong, K. L. Saar, G. Meisl, C. M. Dobson and T. P. J. Knowles, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 3503 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC04331G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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