Dynamic Light Scattering Analysis to Dissect Intermediates of SNARE-Mediated Membrane Fusion.

Dynamic light scattering (DLS) spectroscopy provides rapid information on the size distribution of a large number of particles in a mixture. Vesicle sizes change during the merger of lipid bilayers, and DLS analysis can provide rapid, accurate, and non-perturbative quantification of the size distribution of proteoliposomes in SNARE-dependent membrane fusion. In this chapter, we describe the methodologies and reagents used for DLS spectroscopy in a biochemical and biophysical study of SNARE-mediated membrane fusion.