扩散序谱(DOSY)实验测定缓冲体系中蛋白质表观分子量

液体核磁共振扩散序谱（DOSY）可以通过测定溶质分子的自扩散系数（D_t）来研究该分子在溶液中的表观分子量（M）.D_t与测试体系和分子本身性质相关，蛋白质体系较为复杂，从而增加了蛋白质自扩散系数（D_t-protein）测定的难度.本文以3-（三甲基硅基）丙磺酸钠（DSS）为内标，以蛋白质分子与DSS自扩散系数的比值（D_r）来表征蛋白质分子在溶液中的表观分子量（M_protein），该方法降低了缓冲体系对M_protein的影响，使得M_protein主要由分子本身的性质决定.在此基础上，测定了不同分子量蛋白质分子相对于DSS的D_r，拟合得到了D_r与M_protein的相关关系：lgM_protein =-2.6488 lgD_r-0.7863，相关系数（R²）为0.997.最后测定了通过大肠杆菌表达纯化得到的SARS冠状病毒主蛋白酶C端结构域（M^pro-C）分子相对于DSS的D_r，并计算出与文献结果一致的M_protein，进一步验证了拟合公式的准确性和实用性.

Determination of Apparent Protein Molecular Weight in Solution by Diffusion Ordered NMR Spectroscopy

Diffusion ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) can be used to determine the apparent molecular weight of proteins (M_protein) by measuring self-diffusion coefficient (D_t-protein). However, D_t-protein is also affected by the property of buffer solution, making the measurements complicated. In this work, 3-(trimethylsilyl) propane sodium sulfonate (DSS) was used as the internal reference molecule and the diffusion coefficient ratio between the target protein and DSS (D_r) was used to characterize the protein in solution. This method reduced the effects of buffer system on M_protein determination, yielding more accurate M_protein measurement. The D_r values of reference proteins with different molecular weight were determined. A correlation curve between D_r and M_protein was established (lgM_protein=-2.6488 lgD_r-0.7863, R²=0.997). Finally, D_r of the C-terminal domain of SARS-CoV main protease (M^pro-C) was determined and to yield its molecular weight. Accuracy and practicability of the fitting curve were demonstrated.