Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is an optical technique that enables the detection of localized structural changes in biomolecules upon ligand binding. The technique is sensitive to changes in angular orientation of an SH-active probe covalently attached to either native or engineered residues through standard reactive chemistries, and as such can be used to discriminate the structural and functional consequences of ligand binding. Traditionally, conformationally sensitive SHG assays have been developed for soluble protein targets, however integral membrane proteins present unique challenges. In this talk, I will discuss the challenges associated with developing SHG assays for integral membrane proteins. In addition, I will present data from relevant case studies where we have applied SHG to investigate the structural changes of integral membrane proteins upon binding of both natural and small molecule ligands.

Second-harmonic generation and its application to integral membrane proteins

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.