[Frontiers in Bioscience 16, 61-73, January 1, 2011]

Biomolecular studies by circular dichroism

Veronica Isabel Dodero, Zulma Beatriz Quirolo, Maria Alejandra Sequeira

Chemistry Department-INQUISUR, National University of South- CONICET, Alem Av. 1253, (8000) Bahia Blanca, Argentina

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
2.1. Basic principles of circular dichroism (CD)
2.2. General aspects of CD measurements for protein and DNA
2.3. Practical aspects of CD for biomolecules
3. Structural information on peptides and proteins available from CD
3.1. Protein structure
3.2. Protein - small molecules interaction
4. Structural information on DNA available from CD
4.1. DNA structure and stability
4.2. DNA - small molecules interaction
4.3. DNA - protein interaction
5. Conclusions
6. Acknowledgements
7. References

1. ABSTRACT

In this review, we shall outline the basic principles of circular dichroism (CD) indicating the types of structural information relevant to the study of biomolecules, such as proteins or DNA. We are mainly interested to show the utility of this technique to study protein-ligand, DNA-ligand and protein-DNA interactions.