The protein’s stickiness is a result of surface hydrophobic interactions that are important for many biological functions. The problem is that researchers don’t have good tools to measure this stickiness with high sensitivity.
Now, an interdisciplinary team at Michigan Technological University has assembled new tools to solve the case of the sticky protein. Their work on improving hydrophobicity detection using BODIPY-based probes will be published in Scientific Reports Friday morning (embargo lifts 10 am GMT, 5 am EST).
Using fluorescent probes, the team measured hydrophobicity in three proteins: Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), apomyoglobin and myoglobin. Compared to a commonly used commercial sensor (ANS), these new BODIPY-based hydrophobic sensors showed much stronger signal strengths, with up to a 60-fold increase in BSA.
“This is like going from having one 40-watt light bulb and then having 60 of them in the same room, just imagine the difference in illumination,” says Ashutosh Tiwari, an associate professor of chemistry at Michigan Tech and the corresponding author for the study.
MEDIA CONTACT
Register for reporter access to contact detailsArticle Multimedia
CITATIONS
Scientific Reports, Dec-2015; ALS Therapy Alliance