Orientation of skeletal muscle actin in strong magnetic fields

Abstract

Measurement of birefringence is used to follow actin filament and paracrystal formation in a strong magnetic field. Both F-actin and paracrystals orientate parallel to the field. This confirms that globular proteins arranged in filamentous assemblies can orientate in magnetic fields. This is consistent with the alpha-helical component of the actin subunits being approximately aligned along the actin filament.