Skip to main content
Log in

Dynamic light scattering: a practical guide and applications in biomedical sciences

  • Review
  • Published:
Biophysical Reviews Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Dynamic light scattering (DLS), also known as photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), is a very powerful tool for studying the diffusion behaviour of macromolecules in solution. The diffusion coefficient, and hence the hydrodynamic radii calculated from it, depends on the size and shape of macromolecules. In this review, we provide evidence of the usefulness of DLS to study the homogeneity of proteins, nucleic acids, and complexes of protein–protein or protein–nucleic acid preparations, as well as to study protein–small molecule interactions. Further, we provide examples of DLS’s application both as a complementary method to analytical ultracentrifugation studies and as a screening tool to validate solution scattering models using determined hydrodynamic radii.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Download references

Acknowledgments

TRP acknowledges Manitoba Institute of Child Health (2008–10) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2010–12) for postdoctoral fellowship awards, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship program (2013–15) for their financial support. JS holds a Canada Research Chair in Structure Biology and was supported by funding from NSERC. SAM is supported by NSERC Discovery grant (RGPIN-2015-06142). The authors congratulate Prof. Donald Winzor on his 80th birthday and thank him for his immense contributions in the development and applications of biophysical methods. Dr. Patel thanks Prof. Winzor for being his mentor. The authors thank Drs. Hall and Harding for an opportunity to contribute in a special issue “Analytical Quantitative Relations in Biochemistry”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jörg Stetefeld or Trushar R. Patel.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interests

Jörg Stetefeld declares that he has no conflicts of interest. Sean A. McKenna declares that he has no conflicts of interest. Trushar R. Patel declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of a Special Issue on ‘Analytical Quantitative Relations in Biochemistry’ edited by Damien Hall and Stephen Harding.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stetefeld, J., McKenna, S.A. & Patel, T.R. Dynamic light scattering: a practical guide and applications in biomedical sciences. Biophys Rev 8, 409–427 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-016-0218-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-016-0218-6

Keywords

Navigation