High-resolution characterization of intrinsic disorder in proteins: expanding the suite of (13)C-detected NMR spectroscopy experiments to determine key observables.

Order in disorder: The characterization of intrinsically disordered proteins by NMR spectroscopy is a necessity on the one hand and a continuous challenge on the other. We propose two experiments that provide diagnostic parameters to monitor the degree of unfolding of a polypeptide. The test was performed on the yeast Cox17 protein, known to gain its function through maturation from an intrinsically disordered state (see figure).