title: Small-angle neutron scattering study of the structure of protein/detergent complexes.
abstract: Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used to study the structure of protein/sodium dodecylsulfate complexes. Two water soluble proteins, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and ovalbumin (OVA), were used. The protein concentration was kept constant at 1 wt %, and protein/detergent wt ratio varied between 1/1, 1/1.5, 1/2 and 1/3. Absolute intensities of SANS distributions were analyzed by a fractal model. Analyses of large Q portions of SANS distributions established that sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) molecules bound to a protein/SDS complex form micelle-like clusters. On the other hand, analyses of small Q portions of SANS distributions clearly showed that the arrangement of micelle-like clusters resembles a fractal packing of spheres. We showed that a protein/SDS complex can be characterized by four parameters extracted from the scattering experiment, namely, the average micelle size and its aggregation number, the fractal dimension characterizing the conformation of the micellar chains, the correlation length giving the extent of the unfolded polypeptide chains, and the numbers of micelle-like clusters in the complex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
authors.forename: X H
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teixeira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002417:Cattle; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D003902:Detergents; D008823:Micelles; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015394:Molecular Structure; D009502:Neutrons; D010047:Ovalbumin; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011506:Proteins; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; D013501:Surface-Active Agents
chemical_list: D003902:Detergents; D008823:Micelles; D011506:Proteins; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; D010047:Ovalbumin