International Collaboration in Chemistry: Electron Delocalization in Polypeptide Structure and Stability

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With this International Collaboration in Chemistry (ICC) award, the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) program of the Division of Chemistry is supporting collaborative work by Professor Ronald T. Raines of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Professor Derek N. Woolfson of the University of Bristol, to carry out fundamental studies on protein structure and stability, with an eye toward understanding secondary orbital interactions. Research in the Woolfson laboratory in the UK is supported by the partnering agency, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). This award is being co-funded by the NSF Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE).Protein structures and assemblies are directed, stabilized, and governed by a wide variety of non-covalent interactions. Recently, work from this collaborative team suggested that a lesser-known force, based upon n-to-pi* interactions, is widespread in protein structures, and likely plays roles in stability and function. Building on this new finding, the proposed research has two overarching objectives: (1) using bioinformatics to probe n-to-pi* and analogous interactions in high-resolution polypeptide structures of the available public databases, namely the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) and the RCSB (Brookhaven) Protein Data Bank (PDB); and (2) using chemistry to explore the possibility of stabilizing peptide and protein structures by enhancing n-to-pi* interactions through backbone chemical modification. Outcomes could include a better understanding of non-covalent forces in peptide and protein structures, and a general means to stabilize those structures.In addition to scientific broader impacts in potentially changing the way chemists think about conformation and orbital interactions in peptides, there are significant educational broader impacts. This NSF-EPSRC ICC award will enable participating students and postdoctorates to experience international collaborative research first hand with colleagues in the partnering laboratory.