Protein oligomerization equilibria and kinetics investigated by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy: a mathematical treatment.

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a technique that is increasingly being used to investigate protein oligomerization equilibria and dynamics. Each individual FCS decay is characterized by its amplitude and a characteristic diffusion time, both of which are sensitive to the degree of dissociation of the protein. Here, we provide a mathematical treatment that relates these observables with the parameters of interest: the equilibrium constants of the different protein dissociation steps and their corresponding dissociation and association kinetic rate constants.

Intrinsic stability and oligomerization dynamics of DNA processivity clamps.

Sliding clamps are ring-shaped oligomeric proteins that are essential for processive deoxyribonucleic acid replication. Although crystallographic structures of several clamps have been determined, much less is known about clamp structure and dynamics in solution. Here, we characterized the intrinsic solution stability and oligomerization dynamics of the homodimeric Escherichia coli β and the homotrimeric Saccharomyces cerevisiae proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) clamps using single-molecule approaches.