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Charged acrylamide copolymer gels as media for weak alignment

Meier, Sebastian ; Häussinger, Daniel ; Grzesiek, Stephan

In: Journal of Biomolecular NMR, 2002, vol. 24, no. 4, p. 351-356

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    Title
    • Charged acrylamide copolymer gels as media for weak alignment
    Author
    • Meier, Sebastian. Department of Structural Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland
    • Häussinger, Daniel. Department of Structural Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland
    • Grzesiek, Stephan. Department of Structural Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Journal of Biomolecular NMR, 2002, vol. 24, no. 4, p. 351-356. Kluwer Academic Publishers
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:309571
    Summary
    The use of mechanically strained acrylamide/acrylate copolymers is reported as a new alignment medium for biomacromolecules. Compared to uncharged, strained polyacrylamide gels, the negative charges of the acrylamide/acrylate copolymer strongly alter the alignment tensor and lead to pronounced electroosmotic swelling. The swelling itself can be used to achieve anisotropic, mechanical strain. The method is demonstrated for the alignment of TipAS, a 17kDa antibiotic resistance protein, as well as for human ubiquitin, where alignment tensors with an AZZ,NH of up to 60Hz are achieved at a gel concentration of 2% (w/v). The alignment can be modulated by the variation of pH, ionic strength, and gel concentration. The high mechanical stability of the swollen gels makes it possible to obtain alignment at polymer concentrations of less than 1% (w/v)