Binding of Proteins and Probes to Artificial Surfaces

TIRF has been used to study equilibrium adsorption of proteins to artificial surfaces both to learn about the surface properties of various biomaterials that have medical applications and also to test the TIRF technique itself. 

Calibration of a TIRF intensity to derive an absolute concentration of adsorbate is a nontrivial problem, mainly because fluorescence quantum 

If the soluble protein that specifically adsorbs to the fiber can be extrinsi-cally labeled, the background problem can be avoided. Of course, in vivo proteins cannot be labeled. However, it is conceivable that a protein labeled with a bulky extrinsic group (e.g., fluorescent dextrans) could be confined by a molecular sieve membrane (e.g., a dialysis membrane) within a closed volume surrounding the specifically derivatized optical fiber. When exposed to the (unlabeled) protein in the biological fluid under investigation, the membrane-clad fiber would allow some unlabeled protein to permeate in and 

By preparing planar lipid monolayers or bilayers on hydrophobically derivatized or native hydrophilic glass, respectively, the adsorption equilibrium constants of a blood coagulation cascade protein, prothrombin, have been examined by TIRF on a surface that more closely models actual cell surfaces and is amenable to alterations of surface charge. It was found that membranes of phosphatidylcholine (PC) that contain some phosphatidyl-serine (PS) bind prothrombin more strongly than pure PC membranes/83 

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