Birefringence of tropomyosin crystals.
The birefringence of tropomyosin crystals was measured in the temperature range 5 degrees-35 degrees C. The experimental results are compared with a simple model calculation based on the theory developed by Wiener for the optical properties of colloidal systems. The difference between experimental and theoretical values is less than 15%, which denotes a good agreement given the simplicity of the model. A value of 0.011 was obtained for the intrinsic birefringence of the tropomyosin molecule. The temperature dependence of the crystal birefringence could be accounted for in part by a change of the unit cell parameters; this change was experimentally observed by others in x-ray diffraction experiments.
Martin Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254.
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Ruiz
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Oldenbourg
D001718:Birefringence; D003461:Crystallography / Q000379:methods; D008433:Mathematics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014335:Tropomyosin
D014335:Tropomyosin