I am working on the structure of whey proteins-based nano- and micro-scaled aggregates. I want to know which method (CD and FT-IR) is better for studying the secondary structure of proteins and why? I would appreciate you to share your experiences in this field.
It will depend on what you want to see, usually FTIR is very good for the solid state determination of the structure, and the CD for solutions, even very diluted solutions, you can do the FTIR of the proteins in solutions too but the problem is that water IR absorption is in the same frequency as the amide bands, which will make your structure determination a bit more difficult. Both techniques are complementary to each other, also both are very well described in the literature, and if available you should do both.
It will depend on what you want to see, usually FTIR is very good for the solid state determination of the structure, and the CD for solutions, even very diluted solutions, you can do the FTIR of the proteins in solutions too but the problem is that water IR absorption is in the same frequency as the amide bands, which will make your structure determination a bit more difficult. Both techniques are complementary to each other, also both are very well described in the literature, and if available you should do both.
Dear Mehdi
I think CD have two important merit over FTIR. CD able to measure the secondary structure of protein in solution. But in FTIR, to avoid interference caused by water molecules, it is necessary to dry the sample before the study. This drying step can slightly change the secondary steucture of protein.
Also, the raw FTIR spectra can not be used directly to estimate the secondary structure of the protein, and it is necessary that deconvolute the data. But in CD, with a software such as CDNN, you can easily predict the percentage of each secondary structure elements.
Dear Farhad Alavi
Thanks for your answer. Do yo think that we can use CD spectroscopy for a mixed solution of protein and polysaccharides (for examples complex coacervates or Maillard reaction products)?
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