Malvern's Zetasizer Nano light scattering particle characterisation system is being used by investigators at the University of Nagasaki in a novel carbohydrate-lectin binding-inhibition assay.
The assay was developed as part of a project to investigate the binding activity of both naturally occurring and engineered galactose-specific C-type lectins from a marine invertebrate.
A paper describing the work is published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-General Subjects, Vol 1760, Issue 3, Mar 06, pp318-325.
The outcome of the research suggests that the engineered lectin offers a convenient model for further structural and mutational studies of the carbohydrate recognition mechanism.
Light scattering was used to confirm the affinity for different carbohydrates and to successfully determine agglutination rates of liposomes binding to lectins.
The findings were supported by mass spectroscopy, circular dichroism and X-ray crystallography studies.
The Zetasizer Nano is now the most widely used light scattering system for the size measurement of particles and molecules.
It is designed specifically to meet the low sample volume and high sensitivity requirements essential for protein characterization.
Easy to use and measuring molecules as small as 0.3nm hydrodynamic radius, the Zetasizer offers the high sensitivity required for the measurement of solutions of proteins.
Furthermore, size trends as a function of pH or additive concentration, for example, can be automated by coupling it to the MPT-2 autotitrator.
