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

Fees and usage

  • Fee $10/hour for Chirascan v100 (minimum charge of one hour)
  • Fee $35/hour for Jasco J-1500 (minimum charge of one hour)

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

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Publication acknowledgement

  • All publications reporting data collected on the Applied Photophysics V100 should include the following acknowledgment statement: 

    “Some of the data reported here were collected on a Chirascan v100 circular dichroism spectrometer funded by National Institutes of Health Grant 1S10OD026703.”

    Please send the citation information to Professor John Tanner for required reporting to the NIH. 
     
  • Some of the data were collected in Jasco J-1500 circular dichroism spectrometer funded by the Division of Research, Innovation & Impact  

    Please send the citation information to mulscmicore@missouri.edu.

 

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