Measurement of CD spectrum of hemoglobin and DNA derived from bovine thymus

Circular dichroism is an essential tool for the structural analysis of biological molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. The typical path length of cells used for CD measurements is 1 mm, which makes it possible to measure sample volumes around 400 uL and concentrations as low as 0.1 mg/mL. However, there are many instances in which the sample size is even more limited.

The enhanced sensitivity of the J-1500 CD spectrometer enables CD spectra to be obtained with high accuracy and high signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, even at microscale sizes, using a newly developed microcell with a small surface area.

In this application note, CD spectra of hemoglobin and DNA derived from bovine thymus are measured using a microsampling disc with the J-1500 CD spectrometer. The measurements were performed with a 3 uL sample volume to demonstrate the sensitivity of the J-1500 with small sample volumes in a microcell.