A novel single-molecule study to determine protein--protein association constants.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is traditionally used as an imaging technique to gain qualitative information for a biological system. We have successfully used the imaging capabilities of the AFM to determine protein-protein association constants. We have developed a method to measure the molecular weight of a protein based on its volume determined from AFM images. Our volume determination method allows for rapid, accurate analysis of large protein populations. On the basis of the measured volume, the fraction of monomers as dimers was determined for the DNA helicase UvrD, and the dissociation constant (K(d)) for the helicase was calculated. We determined a K(d) for UvrD of 1.4 microM, which is in good agreement with published K(d) data obtained from analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) studies. Our method provides a rapid method for determining protein-protein association constants.