Determination of Macromolecular Homogeneity, Shape, and Interactions Using Sedimentation Velocity Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Since its inception by Svedberg and coworkers in the 1920s, the analytical ultracentrifuge has provided a powerful tool in biochemistry and molecular biology, with applications ranging from simple purity checks and particle shape determinations from sedimentation velocity, isolation and purification of macromolecules using density gradient techniques right through to the evaluation of mol wt and mol-wt distributions, thermodynamic second virial coefficients, and association constants using sedimentation equilibrium, without the need for calibration standards. By the 196Os, the familiar “Beckman Model E” had become commonplace in biochemical laboratories worldwide.