Regensburg 2019 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 12: Poster II

BP 12.9: Poster

Dienstag, 2. April 2019, 14:00–16:00, Poster B2

Cyclic olefin copolymer microfluidic devices for SAXS studies on protein assembly — •Gerrit Brehm and Sarah Köster — Universität Göttingen, Institut für Röntgenphysik

Protein assembly is essential in cellular mechanics and, in particular, the mechanical properties of assembled proteins in higher-ordered structures. The mechanical properties of bundles and networks, for example, are directly encoded by the specific hierarchical architecture of protein structures. Therefore, understanding the assembly pathway of proteins is essential in determining their biological function.

Combining the high spatial resolution of small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) with the precise, controllable sample environment inside microfluidic devices enables investigation of such processes, as they take place on nanometer and micrometer length scales and occur on sub-second to second times scales. We present a straightforward fabrication method for X-ray compatible microfluidic devices made solely from cyclic olefin copolymers. Furthermore, no gluing between interfaces is necessary, rendering the production very reliable.

As a biophysical application we investigate the early time points of the assembly of vimentin intermediate filament proteins into higher-order structures. We benchmark the performance of the devices against other devices including more commonly used Kapton windows and obtain data of equal quality using SAXS. This weakly scattering protein system leads to high quality data in the new devices, thus opening up the way for numerous future applications.