Following the folding of RNA with time-resolved synchrotron X-ray footprinting

The rapid mixing synchrotron X-ray footprinting technique described in this article allows nucleic acid folding and ligand binding reactions to be followed on a millisecond time resolution with single nucleotide resolution. In principle, the change in ·OH protection of every nucleotide in a nucleic acid hundreds of nucleotides long can be monitored separately. In addition, a wide range of solution conditions are compatible with the radiolytic generation of ·OH. These characteristics of synchrotron X-ray footprinting create opportunities for conducting thermodynamic and kinetic studies of nucleic acids that are both comprehensive and detailed. Kinetic footprinting studies of a number of systems have been initiated by the Center for Synchrotron Biosciences using this technique.