Mapping the energy landscapes of supramolecular assembly by thermal hysteresis.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how biological macromolecules assemble into higher-order structures is critical to explaining their function in living organisms and engineered biomaterials. Transient, partly-structured intermediates are essential in many assembly processes and pathway selection, but are challenging to characterize. Here we present a simple thermal hysteresis method based on rapid, non-equilibrium melting and annealing measurements that maps the rate of supramolecular assembly as a function of temperature and concentration. A straightforward analysis of these surfaces provides detailed information on the natures of assembly pathways, offering temperature resolution beyond that accessible with conventional techniques. Validating the approach using a tetrameric guanine quadruplex, we obtain st

SUBMITTER: Harkness V RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6082911 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature