Measuring surface-induced conformational changes in proteins

Microfabricated cantilever sensors were used to measure the surface stress induced by protein adsorption onto a gold surface. Two proteins, immoglobulin G (IgG) and albumin (BSA), were studied. The change of surface stress upon adsorption of IgG was found to be compressive, whereas that of BSA was tensile. This difference is elucidated in terms of protein deformation and packing. Most stress change occurs not on adsorption but over very long time scales, up to 12 h, as protein conformational changes occur. The ability to monitor slow protein changes (e.g., from protein denaturing) is a particular strength of the technique.