Detection and Analysis of Interactions by Two-Phase Partition

All biological life is dependent on interactions. On the molecular level, interactions between proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids are required for formation of the organelles, as well as other cellular structures such as cytoskeletons, ribosomes, and multienzyme complexes. In addition, usually weaker interactions between receptors and low molecular weight molecules such as hormones, guanosine triphosphate (GTP) or ions, are involved in many regulatory events. The importance of interacting systems for biological life as well as the abundance of interacting molecules, has led to development of a large number of techniques for detecting as well as defining the interaction in terms of binding strength and stoichiometry.