European Molecular Biology Laboratory-Hamburg Outstation, c/o DESY, Notkestrasse 85, Hamburg, Germany.
J Struct Biol. 2010 Oct;172(1):128-41. doi: 10.1016/j.jsb.2010.06.012. Epub 2010 Jun 15.
Small-angle scattering of X-rays (SAXS) is an established method for the low-resolution structural characterization of biological macromolecules in solution. The technique provides three-dimensional low-resolution structures, using ab initio and rigid body modeling, and allow one to assess the oligomeric state of proteins and protein complexes. In addition, SAXS is a powerful tool for structure validation and the quantitative analysis of flexible systems, and is highly complementary to the high resolution methods of X-ray crystallography and NMR. At present, SAXS analysis methods have reached an advanced state, allowing for automated and rapid characterization of protein solutions in terms of low-resolution models, quaternary structure and oligomeric composition. In this communication, main approaches to the characterization of proteins and protein complexes using SAXS are reviewed. The tools for the analysis of proteins in solution are presented, and the impact that these tools have made in modern structural biology is discussed.
X 射线小角散射（SAXS）是一种成熟的方法，可用于溶液中生物大分子的低分辨率结构特征分析。该技术通过从头计算和刚体建模提供三维低分辨率结构，并可评估蛋白质和蛋白质复合物的寡聚状态。此外，SAXS 还是一种用于结构验证和柔性系统定量分析的强大工具，与 X 射线晶体学和 NMR 的高分辨率方法高度互补。目前，SAXS 分析方法已经达到先进水平，可实现对蛋白质溶液的低分辨率模型、四级结构和寡聚组成的自动化和快速特征分析。在本通讯中，综述了使用 SAXS 对蛋白质和蛋白质复合物进行特征分析的主要方法。介绍了用于分析溶液中蛋白质的工具，并讨论了这些工具在现代结构生物学中的重要作用。
