Time Resolved Collapse of a Folding Protein Observed with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

L. Pollack; M. W. Tate; A. C. Finnefrock; C. Kalidas; S. Trotter; N. C. Darnton; L. Lurio; R. H. Austin; C. A. Batt; S. M. Gruner; S. G. J. Mochrie

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.4962

Time Resolved Collapse of a Folding Protein Observed with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

L. Pollack, M. W. Tate, A. C. Finnefrock, C. Kalidas, S. Trotter, N. C. Darnton, L. Lurio, R. H. Austin, C. A. Batt, S. M. Gruner, and S. G. J. Mochrie

Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4962 – Published 21 May 2001

Abstract

High-intensity, “pink” beam from an undulator was used in conjunction with microfabricated rapid-fluid mixing devices to monitor the early events in protein folding with time resolved small angle x-ray scattering. This Letter describes recent work on the protein bovine $β$ -lactoglobulin where collapse from an expanded to a compact set of states was directly observed on the millisecond time scale. The role of chain collapse, one of the initial stages of protein folding, is not currently understood. The characterization of transient, compact states is vital in assessing the validity of theories and models of the folding process.

Received 10 September 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.4962

Authors & Affiliations

L. Pollack^1,*, M. W. Tate¹, A. C. Finnefrock¹, C. Kalidas², S. Trotter², N. C. Darnton³, L. Lurio⁴, R. H. Austin³, C. A. Batt², S. M. Gruner¹, and S. G. J. Mochrie⁴

¹Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
²Nanobiotechnology Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
³Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544
⁴Department of Physics, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139