Potentials of Small-angle Neutron Scattering for Studies of the Structure of 'Live' Mitochondria

Autor: Vera V. Teplova, V. I. Popov, I. M. Solodovnikova, O. I. Ivankov, Yu. S. Kovalev, Valentin Gordeliy, Alexander I. Kuklin, Lev S. Yaguzhinsky, V. I. Yurkov, T. N. Murugova
Rok vydání: 2011
Předmět:
Zdroj: Neutron News. 22:11-14
ISSN: 1931-7352
1044-8632
Popis: The existing high-resolution methods for obtaining structural parameters of biological membrane objects are associated, as a rule, with strong physical and chemical actions on the soft membrane structure. Therefore the results of such experiments have an ambiguity arising from the changes in the structure of objects in the process of measurements. Investigations of living membrane systems retaining their main biological functions are a considerable challenge. Our object of study was the structure of mitochondria by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Functioning mitochondria carries out the ATP synthesis (source of energy for cellular activities) that is realized by the oxidative phosphorylation system located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. In the 1970s, small-angle X-ray scattering was applied to investigate the structure of intact mitochondria [1–2], but there are no neutron investigations. As compared to X-rays, thermal neutrons have less damaging effect on biological objects and are sensitive...
Databáze: OpenAIRE