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Frontiers in Protein Structure, Function, and Dynamics pp 239–258Cite as

Protein Folding, Dynamics and Aggregation at Single-Molecule Resolution

Abstract

The last couple of decades have witnessed a significant surge in the use of single-molecule fluorescence methods aimed at the in-depth understanding of how proteins fold to perform their biochemical functions. The detection of individual fluorophores enables the observation of a single protein molecule’s conformational dynamic, in vivo localization within the heterogeneous cellular milieu, its fluorescence quenching upon intermolecular interactions, polarization response and fluorescence resonance energy transfer. This chapter has assembled a fundamental understanding of the single-molecule fluorescence techniques: Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy and Förster’s Resonance Energy Transfer, and their use in case studies to illustrate how these techniques have enhanced our understanding of the mechanisms underlying protein folding and aggregation. Due to their high sensitivity and specificity, these techniques are becoming indispensable for the study of protein structure and conformational fluctuations.

Keywords

  • Single-molecule fluorescence
  • Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
  • Energy landscape
  • Förster’s resonance energy transfer
  • Alpha-Synuclein
  • Cytochrome c
  • Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Protein Folding and Dynamics Laboratory, Structural Biology and Bioinformatics Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India

    Ritobrita Chakraborty & Krishnananda Chattopadhyay

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  1. Ritobrita Chakraborty
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  2. Krishnananda Chattopadhyay
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Correspondence to Krishnananda Chattopadhyay .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Dr. Dev Bukhsh Singh

  2. Department of Biochemistry, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, India

    Dr. Timir Tripathi

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Chakraborty, R., Chattopadhyay, K. (2020). Protein Folding, Dynamics and Aggregation at Single-Molecule Resolution. In: Singh, D., Tripathi, T. (eds) Frontiers in Protein Structure, Function, and Dynamics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5530-5_10

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