Light scattering studies of proteins under compression

The scattering techniques are very convenient and effective in investigation of the shape, size and interactions of biological molecules close to their natural states in solution. However, it seems that from among a wide spectrum of scattering techniques, the light scattering ones have been relatively rarely used for the study of proteins under elevated hydrostatic pressure. This paper gives a brief description of the well developed possibilities of this technique for potential applications in the study of dissociation, aggregation and structural changes in proteins under compression. A short review of the already known applications is also given. Finally, the high-pressure dynamic light scattering results obtained by author on the lysozyme solution are shown and discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.