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Circular Dichroism (CD) Analyses of Protein-Protein Interactions

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Protein-Protein Interactions

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1278))

Abstract

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a useful technique for studying protein-protein interactions in solution. CD in the far ultraviolet region (178–260 nm) arises from the amides of the protein backbone and is sensitive to the conformation of the protein. Thus, CD can determine whether there are changes in the conformation of proteins when they interact. Changes in the conformation of the protein complexes as a function of temperature or added denaturants, compared to the individual proteins, can be used to determine binding constants. CD bands in the near ultraviolet (350–260 nm) and visible regions arise from aromatic amino acid side chains and prosthetic groups. There are often changes in these regions when proteins bind to each other. Because CD is a quantitative technique, these changes are directly proportional to the amount of the protein–protein complexes formed and thus also can be used to estimate binding constants.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor (retired), Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, 675 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8021, USA

    Norma J. Greenfield

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  1. Norma J. Greenfield
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Correspondence to Norma J. Greenfield .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Emory Chemical Biology Discovery Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Cheryl L. Meyerkord

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Department of Hematology & Medical Oncology, and Emory Chemical Biology Discovery Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA

    Haian Fu

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Greenfield, N.J. (2015). Circular Dichroism (CD) Analyses of Protein-Protein Interactions. In: Meyerkord, C., Fu, H. (eds) Protein-Protein Interactions. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1278. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2425-7_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2425-7_15

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2424-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2425-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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