Deuteration in Biological Neutron Reflectometry

Neutron reflectometry (NR) is uniquely positioned in structural biology, because of its ability to characterize biomolecular interfacial architectures like lipid membranes and membrane-associated proteins nondestructively and in their native environment. Mimicking biological processes, samples can be manipulated and their structural response can be measured. Specific deuteration is an integral part of biological NR as it is essential for resolving, for example, individual components of membrane-bound protein-protein complexes. Data analysis techniques have been developed in the past decade that extract the maximum structural detail from reflectivity data obtained from samples with complex deuteration schemes while avoiding overinterpretation. This is achieved by employing robust methods for the determination of modeling uncertainties. Integrative modeling approaches for NR are emerging as an essential part of the technique.