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7032969 
Journal Article 
Analytical ultracentrifugation for the study of protein association and assembly 
Howlett, GJ; Minton, AP; Rivas, G; , 
2006 
Yes 
Current Opinion in Chemical Biology
ISSN: 1367-5931 
ELSEVIER SCI LTD 
OXFORD 
430-436 
English 
Analytical ultracentrifugation remains pre-eminent among the methods used to study the interactions of macromolecules under physiological conditions. Recent developments in analytical procedures allow the high resolving power of sedimentation velocity methods to be coupled to sedimentation equilibrium approaches and applied to both static and dynamic associations. Improvements in global modeling based on numerical solutions of the Lamm equation have generated new sedimentation velocity applications with an emphasis on data interpretation using sedimentation coefficient or molar mass distributions. Procedures based on the use of multiple optical signals from absorption and interference optics for the analysis of the sedimentation velocity and equilibrium behavior of more complex interactions have now been developed. New applications of tracer sedimentation equilibrium experiments and the development of a fluorescence optical system for the analytical ultracentrifuge extend the accessible concentration range over several orders of magnitude and, coupled with the new analytical procedures, provide powerful new tools for studies of both weak and strong macromolecular interactions in solution.