Assessing and Improving Protein Sample

Bertrand Raynal (1, 2) , Sébastien Brûlé (1, 2) , Stephan Uebel (3) , Stefan Knauer (4)

1 Biophysique Moléculaire (plateforme) - Molecular Biophysics (platform)
2 C2RT - Centre de Ressources et de Recherche Technologique - Center for Technological Resources and Research
3 MPIB - Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie = Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
4 Universität Bayreuth

One essential prerequisite of any experiment involving a purified protein, such as interaction studies or structural and biophysical characterization, is to work with a "good-quality" sample in order to ensure reproducibility and reliability of the data. Here, we define a "good-quality" sample as a protein preparation that fulfills three criteria: (1) the preparation contains a protein that is pure and soluble and exhibits structural and functional integrity, (2) the protein must be structurally homogeneous, and (3) the preparation must be reproducible. To ensure effective quality control (QC) of all these parameters, we suggest to follow a simple workflow involving the use of gel electrophoresis, light scattering, and spectroscopic experiments. We describe the techniques used in every step of this workflow and provide easy-to-use standard protocols for each step.

Keywords: Batch-to-batch consistency; Homogeneity; Identity; Oligomeric state; Optimization of storage conditions; Protein stability; Purity; Structural integrity

Domains: Biochemistry [q-bio.BM]; Biophysics

Bertrand Raynal, Sébastien Brûlé, Stephan Uebel, Stefan Knauer. Assessing and Improving Protein Sample. Protein-Ligand Interactions, 2263, Humana, New York, NY, pp.3-46, 2021, Methods in Molecular Biology, 978-1-0716-1196-8. ⟨10.1007/978-1-0716-1197-5_1⟩. ⟨pasteur-03264738⟩