Researchers at the University of Montreal have developed a method to visualize the assembly of proteins that would pave the way for bioengineers to design molecular scale devices for nanotechnology applications.
Self Assembly of Proteins (credit: Peter Allen)
Professor Stephen Michnick from the university’s biochemistry department elaborated on the process of protein assembly. All living organisms ranging from bacteria to humans undergo changes in their protein structure in response to environmental conditions. An illustration of this would be the way receptor proteins in the sinus are stimulated by various odor molecules, indicating the presence of food nearby in some cases and indicating danger in certain other cases.
Proteins are composed of linear structural chains of amino acids, which have the capability to self assemble at the rate of thousandth of a second into a nanomachine by virtue of millions of years of evolution. Errors in assembly lead to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Determining how the proteins self-assemble would thus offer a better understanding of these diseases and help in designing protein nanomachines that find applications in environmental and medical diagnostic sensors.
In order to understand why proteins take on a particular structure amongst numerous other possible structures from a linear chain structure, it is necessary to view the shape the proteins take at each stage of the transformation. The challenge biochemists face in capturing the images is that each stage lasts only for a fleeting moment and current techniques are not capable of capturing these in such a short span of time. The researchers overcame this limitation by attaching fluorescent probes at all points on the linear protein chain.
The research is funded by Le fond de recherché du Québec, Nature et Technologie and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Source: http://www.umontreal.ca/
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