Protein Cages Methods and Protocols

This volume emphasizes new techniques to help understand protein cages and to apply them to a variety of technologies, highlighting the expertise of researchers based on three continents. Protein cages are currently inspiring diverse scientific disciplines and are therefore at the crossroads of extremely widely-scoped research, which is reflected in the detailed chapters of Protein Cages: Methods and Protocols. From nanomaterials studies and iron particles to computational strategies and Atomic Force Microscopy, the chapters herein collectively provide an introduction to the rich world of protein cage research and specific techniques to understand and exploit this fascinating class of proteins. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters begin with an introduction to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Practical and cutting-edge, Protein Cages: Methods and Protocols will help to inspire and further propel the current multi-disciplinary enthusiasm in studying and discovering new applications for protein cages.

Encapsulation of Nanoparticles in Virus Protein Shells.- Use of Protein Cages as a Template for Confined Synthesis of Inorganic and Organic Nanoparticles.- Ferritin Encapsulation and Templated Synthesis of Inorganic Nanoparticles.- Determining the Relaxivity Values of Protein Cage-Templated Nanoparticles Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.- Computationally Assisted Engineering of Protein Cages.- Recombinant Expression and Purification of “Virus-Like” Bacterial Encapsulin Protein Cages.- Production of Bacterial Microcompartments.- Detection of Protein Cage Assembly With Bis-Arsenic Fluorescent Probes.- Determining the Role of Metal Binding in Protein Cage Assembly.- Differential Scanning Calorimetry to Quantify the Stability of Protein Cages.- Material Properties of Viral Nanocages Explored by Atomic Force Microscopy.- Computational Mechanics of Viral Capsids.