Malvern Instruments has developed a diffusion barrier method to eliminate protein denaturation when measuring zeta potential using electrophoretic light scattering.
Utilising a U-shaped disposable capillary cell, the new method is claimed to deliver a significant improvement in the accuracy and repeatability of zeta potential results for proteins.
Ultimately, the method makes protein characterisation with Malvern's Zetasizer range even easier, according to the company.
Zeta potential, which is a property of molecules and particles in suspension related to the surface charge, helps predict the stability of emulsions and colloids and also proteins in solution.
The zeta potential measurement of proteins has always been challenging because of the tendency for aggregation to occur at the electrodes during the application of the electric field.
When aggregates form, the measured result will be the zeta potential of the aggregates, which can be markedly different from the zeta potential of the native protein.
The diffusion barrier method protects the protein by keeping it away from the electrodes within a pool of buffer.
This prevents aggregation, which means the measured zeta potential is only that of the native protein.
By eliminating protein aggregation, the diffusion barrier method improves the quality and accuracy of protein zeta potential measurement.
