Some Aspects of DNA Condensation Observed by Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

Abstract

Conformational changes of macromolecules are a crucial issue that needs to be comprehended before the processes occurring in living systems are understood. They decide about the adaptability of protein tertiary and quaternary structures, which in turn determines their functions and how they will interact with other elements of the system. Protein folding is one of the leading research areas in the modern biology ( Arnold et al., 2001 ; Ellis and Hartl, 1999 ; Grantcharova et al., 2001). Similar problems are encountered when the conformation of other macromolecules need to be considered, i.e. supramolecular aggregates. Phenomena related to the structure and dynamics of such aggregates form the basis for the function of larger structures, starting from the biological membrane and ending on the processing of genetic information. Despite the fact that the properties of a number a single molecular identities are being successfully tackled, their behavior in large functional ensembles is barely been touched.