Circular dichroism

Applications

Circular dichroism (CD) is an excellent spectroscopic technique for studying the structure of proteins and nucleic acids in solution. 

• In the far UV region (240-180 nm), which corresponds to peptide bond absorption, the CD spectrum can be analyzed to give the content of regular secondary structural features such as alpha-helix and beta-sheet.
• The CD spectrum in the near UV region (320-260 nm) reflects the environments of the aromatic amino acid side chains and thus gives information about the tertiary structure of the protein.
• Applications of CD in protein research include following the unfolding and folding of proteins as a function of temperature or chemical denaturant and monitoring protein-ligand binding.
• CD of nucleic acids is commonly used to provide a signature for a given secondary structure.
• CD is particularly powerful for monitoring structural changes resulting from changes in environmental conditions such as temperature, ionic strength and pH.
   

Instrumentation

• Jasco J-1500. 
   

Fees and usage

• Fee $35/hour for Jasco J-1500 (minimum charge of one hour)

Questions or need help? Email mulscmicore@missouri.edu. 
 

Related articles

• How to study proteins by circular dichroism
   
• The use of circular dichroism in the investigation of protein structure and function 
   
• The application of circular dichroism to studies of protein folding and unfolding 
   
• Using circular dichroism collected as a function of temperature to determine the thermodynamics of protein unfolding and binding interactions 
   
• Characterization of DNA structures by circular dichroism