X-ray studies of protein structure


Play all audios:

ABSTRACT ACCORDING to the classical researches of Fischer and others, proteins would appear to be essentially polypeptides, giant molecules formed by the repeated condensation of


a-amino-acids. This concept leads naturally to the idea of long chain-molecules like that of cellulose, the structure of which was worked out some years ago by a particularly happy


combination of chemical and X-ray methods1. Similar methods applied to one of the simplest proteins, fibroin, the fibre substance of natural silk, show that, for silk at least, the


hypothesis is substantially correct1; that, in fact, this fibre is a kind of molecular yarn or sliver built up by chain-like molecules, fully-extended polypeptides, lying roughly parallel to


the fibre axis. The approximate dimensions of these chain-molecules may be predicted from atomic data already available, and they are found to fit in well with the results of X-ray


analysis. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Subscribe to


this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Buy this article * Purchase on SpringerLink * Instant access to full article PDF Buy


now Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout ADDITIONAL ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer


support REFERENCES * K. H. Meyer and H. Mark, ” _Der Aufbau der hochpolymeren organischen Naturstoffe_”, 1930. Google Scholar  * W. T. Astbury, _J. Soc. Chem. Ind._, 49, 441 (1930). _J.


Text. Sci._, 4. 1 (1931). ” _Fundamentals of Fibre Structure_”, 1933. W. T. Astbury and A. Street, _Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc._, A, 230, 75 (1931). Google Scholar  * W. T. Astbury and H. J.


Woods, _NATURE_, 126, 913 (1930); _Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc._, A, 232, 333 (1933); W. T. Astbury and W. A. Sisson, _Proc. Roy. Soc._, A, 150, 533 (1935); H. J. Woods, _NATURE_, 132, 709 (1933).


Article  CAS  Google Scholar  * W. T. Astbury, _Trans. Faraday Soc._, 29, 193 (1933); Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 2, 15 (1934); _Kolloid-Z._, 69, 340 (1934).


Article  CAS  Google Scholar  * W. T. Astbury and S. Dickinson, _NATURE_, 135, 95, 765 (1935). Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar  * G. Boehm and H. H. Weber, _Kolloid-Z._, 61, 269 (1932).


Article  CAS  Google Scholar  * H. H. Weber, _Pflüg. Arch._, 235, 205 (1934). Article  CAS  Google Scholar  * J. B. Speakman, _NATURE_, 132, 930 (1933); Jubilee Issue of _J. Soc. Dyers and


Colourists_, 34 (1934). Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar  * W. T. Astbury and T. C. Marwick, _NATURE_, 130, 309 (1932); W. T. Astbury, _Trans. Faraday Soc._, 29, 206 (1933); _Kolloid-Z._,


69, 340 (1934). Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar  * See, for example, _Chem. Reviews_, 14, 1 (1934), and numerous papers in _NATURE_, _J. Amer. Chem. Soc._, _Kolloid-Z._, etc. * W. T.


Astbury and R. Lomax, _NATURE_, 133, 795 (1934); _J. Chem Soc._, 846 (1935). Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar  * W. T. Astbury, S. Dickinson, and K. Bailey, _Biochem. J._, 29, 2351 (1935).


Article  CAS  Google Scholar  * See papers in _J. Gen. Physiol._ over the last ten years. * E. Gorter and F. Grendel, _Trans. Faraday Soc._, 22, 477 (1926): _Proc. Kon. Akad. Wetensch._, 29,


1262 (1926); _Biochem. Z._, 201, 391 (1928); E. Gorter, J. van Ormondt, and F. J. P. Dom, _Proc. Kon Akad. Wetensch._, 35, 838 (1932); E. Gorter and J. van Ormondt, ibid., 36, 922 (1933);


_Biochem. J._, 29, 48 (1935); E. Gorter and G. T Philippi, _Proc. Kon. Akad. Wetensch._, 37, 788 (1934); E. Gorter, _ibid._, 37, 20 (1934); _Amer. J. Diseases of Children_, 47, 945 (1934);


_J. Gen. Physiol._, 18, 421 (1935); E. Gorter and W. A. Seeder, _ibid._, 18, 427, (1935); etc. Article  Google Scholar  * E. Gorter and F. Grendel, _Proc. Kon. Akad. Wetensch._, 32, 770


(1929). CAS  Google Scholar  * J. D. Bernal and D. Crowfoot, _NATURE_, 133, 794 (1934); D. Crowfoot, ibid., 135, 591 (1935). Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar  * D. M. Wrinch, _NATURE_, 137,


411 (1936). Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar  * W. T. Astbury, _Kolloid-Z._, 69, 340 (1934); W. T. Astbury and R. Lomax, _NATURE_, 133, 795 (1934). CAS  Google Scholar  Download references


AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Textile Physics Laboratory, University of Leeds, W. T. Astbury Authors * W. T. Astbury View author publications You can also search for this


author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Astbury, W. X-Ray Studies of Protein Structure. _Nature_ 137, 803–805


(1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137803a0 Download citation * Issue Date: 16 May 1936 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137803a0 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will


be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt


content-sharing initiative