BPN301: Passive Microfluidic Mixers for Protein Folding Studies

The purpose of this study is to design, fabricate and optimize microfluidic mixers to investigate the kinetics of protein secondary structure formation with Synchrotron Radiation Circular Dichroism (SRCD) spectroscopy. SRCD allows us to use wavelengths below 220 nm where differences between the CD spectra of random coil and the various secondary structure types are most pronounced. Microfluidic mixing allows a fast initiation of the protein folding reaction. By combining this with SRCD, we can clarify an intense debate in the protein folding community as to when, in the process of folding, the secondary structure content forms.

Project end date: 07/31/08