Imaging protein fibers at the nanoscale and in situ

Abstract

Protein self-assembly offers a rich repertoire of tools and technologies. However, despite significant progress in this area, a deterministic measure of the phenomenon, which might lead to predictable relationships between protein components, assembly mechanisms, and ultimately function, is lacking. Often the challenge relates to the choice of the most informative and precise measurements that can link the chemistry of the building blocks with the resulting assembly, ideally in situ and in real time. Using the example of protein fibrillogenesis—a self-assembly process fundamental to nearly every aspect of biological organization, from viral assembly to tissue restoration—this chapter demonstrates how protein self-assembly can be visually and precisely measured while providing measurement protocols applicable to other self-assembly systems.