Journal
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Volume 120, Issue 21, Pages 4639-4648Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.09.018
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada [RGPIN-2018-04841]
- National Science Foundation (NSF) [MCB-1817929]
- National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences [R01GM138887]
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health [F32GM134704]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering are powerful techniques for studying biological membranes. The Vesicle Viewer web application allows easy visualization and analysis of SAS data, using the EZ-SDP analysis to determine key bilayer structural parameters. The application is based on Django and supports various technical aspects with libraries like Matplotlib and NumPy.
Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering are among the most powerful experimental techniques for investigating the structure of biological membranes. Much of the critical information contained in small-angle scattering (SAS) data is not easily accessible to researchers who have limited time to analyze results by hand or to nonexperts who may lack the necessary scientific background to process such data. Easy-to-use data visualization software can allow them to take full advantage of their SAS data and maximize the use of limited resources. To this end, we developed an internet-based application called Vesicle Viewer to visualize and analyze SAS data from unilamellar lipid bilayer vesicles. Vesicle Viewer utilizes a modified scattering density profile (SDP) analysis called EZ-SDP in which key bilayer structural parameters, such as area per lipid and bilayer thickness, are easily and robustly determined. Notably, we introduce a bilayer model that is able to describe an asymmetric bilayer, whether it be chemically or isotopically asymmetric. The application primarily uses Django, a Python package specialized for the development of robust web applications. In addition, several other libraries are used to support the more technical aspects of the project; notable examples are Matplotlib (for graphs) and NumPy (for calculations). By eliminating the barrier of downloading and installing software, this web-based application will allow scientists to analyze their own vesicle scattering data using their preferred operating system. The web-based application can be found at https://vesicleviewer.dmarquardt.ca/.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available