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Single‐particle visualization of assembly: I. Dimerization in a planar zone
Author(s) -
WANG H.,
WU I.,
YANG Q.,
CATALANO C. E.,
SERWER P.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-2720.2005.01438.x
Subject(s) - planar , particle (ecology) , dissociation (chemistry) , agarose , chemical physics , chemistry , materials science , radius , fluorescence , nanotechnology , molecular physics , optics , physics , chromatography , oceanography , computer graphics (images) , computer security , geology , computer science
Summary Single‐particle fluorescence microscopy of association/dissociation is required for analysis of biological assembly reactions. Toward achieving this goal, Wang et al . ( J. Microsc ., 2004, 213 , 101–109) used molten agarose to concentrate thermally diffusing particles in a thin zone of solution next to the surface of a coverglass (plane of concentration). The present study details the first real‐time, single‐particle analysis of the association/dissociation of thermally diffusing particles in the plane of concentration. The test particles were procapsids of bacteriophage λ (radius = 31 nm). Quantification of thermal motion was developed and used to determine whether co‐diffusing particles were bound to each other. The data are explained by (1) the presence of a molten agarose‐generated barrier that is 93–155 nm from the coverglass surface, and (2) non‐random orientation of procapsid dimers in the plane of concentration.