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Analysis of the effect of Mg2+ on myosin filament polymerization/depolymerization by Dynamic light scattering (DLS) (CAT#: STEM-MB-0550-WXH)

Introduction

Muscle myosins polymerize into thick filaments that drive muscle contraction by interaction with actin thin filaments. Thick filaments are formed by the association of several hundred myosin II molecules in a staggered array. The globular heads of myosin bind actin, forming cross-bridges between the myosin and actin filaments. It appeared that Mg2+ ions induced thickening and lengthening of the filaments, whereas ATP (and ADP) induced thinning and shortening (depolymerization) of the filaments.




Principle

Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) is an established and precise measurement technique for characterizing particle sizes in suspensions and emulsions. It is based on the Brownian motion of particles - this states that smaller particles move faster, while larger ones move slower in a liquid. The light scattered by particles contains information on the diffusion speed and thus on the size distribution.
The Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) technique measures motion optically by recording the scattered light signal at a fixed angle. The particles are illuminated with a monochromatic, coherent light source (laser) and the light scattered by the particles is recorded.

Applications

DLS is used to characterize the size of various particles including proteins, polymers, micelles, Protein cages and virus-like particles, vesicles, carbohydrates, nanoparticles, biological cells, and gels.

Procedure

1. Sample preparation
2. Measurement by DLS instrument
3. Data analysis

Materials

• Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) instruments (Photon Correlation Spectroscopy or Quasi-Elastic Light Scattering instruments)
• Dynamic Light Scattering Detector