Basic Principles of Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Analytical ultracentrifugation consists of the application of a high gravitational field to a solution of particles and the real-time detection of the evolving spatial concentration gradients. When applied to macromolecules or nanoscopic particles, ultracentrifugation data can provide rich information on macromolecular shape, solvation, composition and size-distribution. This is the first comprehensive overview book on AUC to be published since the 1950s. This publication will enable newcomers to the field to master AUC without direct access to laboratories where it is practiced, paving the way for this powerful technique to become once more a mainstream tool in the molecular sciences.

Peter Schuck is an Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and Chief of the Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly Section in the Laboratory of Cellular Imaging and Macromolecular Biophysics at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, U.S. National Institutes of Health. He obtained his Ph.D. from the Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, where he worked on interactions of integral proteins of the erythrocyte membrane using analytical ultracentrifugation.

Huaying Zhao is a Staff Scientist in the Dynamics of Macromolecular Assembly Section in the Laboratory of Cellular Imaging and Macromolecular Biophysics at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, U.S. National Institutes of Health. She received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Mississippi, with a specialization in protein biochemistry. Her main research interests are the development of biophysical methodology for characterizing a variety of macromolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, polymers, and nanoparticles.

Chad A. Brautigam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biophysics at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He earned a Ph.D. in biophysics from Yale University. His research focuses on the structures and functions of lipoproteins of pathogenic bacteria. He is also interested in improving the analysis and presentation of biophysical data.

Rodolfo Ghirlando is a Staff Scientist in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, U.S. National Institutes of Health. He earned his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science. His research interests include the study of the in vivo chromatin structure at the 30-nm fiber level and, more generally, the development of hydrodynamic methodology for the study of challenging biomacromolecular interactions.