Sedimentation equilibrium: a valuable tool to study homologous and heterogeneous interactions of proteins or proteins and nucleic acids.

We present a short overview of our experience in analyzing the affinity and stoichiometry of self-associating and heterologous interactions by using the sedimentation equilibrium technique. Data acquisition and the fitting procedure employing the computer programs that we have developed, Polymole and Virial, are utilized for obtaining reliable results under ideal as well as non-ideal conditions. Such data derived from biologically important macromolecules find utility in understanding physiological events such as cell regulation.