Conformation, Hydration, Metal Ion Interactions and Aggregation States of Peptides, Proteins and Oligonucleotides

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Michael Bowers of the University of California at Santa Barbara is supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to examine molecules and systems of biological importance, using mass spectrometric methods. Work will focus on the following specific areas: (1) duplex formation in oligonucleotides, (2) solvation energies, entropies, and diagnostics, and (3) structure and energetics of metal ion binding to nucleotides, peptides, and proteins. Ion-mobility-based mass spectrometry will be used for structural (cross-section) measurements and ion-neutral equilibrium methods for hydration studies. High-level electronic structure calculations and/or molecular dynamics calculations will accompany experiment in all cases. This project presents the opportunity to make significant inroads toward developing new ways to solve biological problems using mass spectrometry. For example, outcomes could help unravel fundamental and practical issues such as water molecule binding to biomolecules. Students and postdoctoral associates will have valuable research education opportunities in both experiments and theory, and they will participate in designing new forefront technical methodologies.