Characterization of Biomolecular Interactions at Interfaces Using Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy

有了这个奖项，生命过程的化学是支持艾尔莎严教授和她的合作PI，教授维克托巴蒂斯塔，开发一种光学方法来表征蛋白质结构的界面。蛋白质界面结构的表征对于理解与细胞膜相关的蛋白质的生物学功能是重要的。这对开发生物材料和生物传感器以满足生物技术的需要也是重要的。然而，一直缺乏实时和原位的方法，可以提供界面和蛋白质二级结构的选择性。为了弥合这一技术差距，该提案旨在建立手性和频发生（SFG）光谱成为一个强大的方法，明确识别蛋白质二级结构在原位和真实的时间在接口。该项目预计将产生更广泛的科学影响，因为它可能导致相关的方法来研究界面上的其他手性大分子，包括天然生物聚合物（例如，DNA和RNA）和合成聚合物以及界面处的超分子组装体。该方法提供了蛋白质二级结构的光学特征，而没有来自水性溶剂和非手性溶质的光学背景。 拟议的研究应用定量物理方法来研究生物分子系统，这是纳入由主要研究者在教室和实验室进行的教育活动。这些活动针对高中、本科、研究生和博士后学生，为他们提供生物科学和物理科学接口的多学科培训。

With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes is supporting Professor Elsa Yan and her co-PI, Professor Victor Batista, to develop an optical method to characterize protein structures at interfaces. Characterization of protein structures at interfaces is important for understanding biological functions of proteins associated with cell membranes. It is also important for developing biomaterials and biosensors to meet the needs in biotechnology. However, there has been a lack of real-time and in situ method that can provide selectivity of both interface and protein secondary structures. To bridge this technological gap, this proposal seeks to establish chiral sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy into a robust method for unambigiuous identification of protein secondary structures in situ and in real time at interfaces. The project is expected to have broader scientific impact as it may lead to related approaches to study other chiral macromolecules at interfaces, including native biopolymers (e.g., DNA and RNA) and synthetic polymers and supramolecular assemblies at interfaces. The method provides optical signatures of protein secondary structures free of optical background from aqueous solvent and achiral solutes. The proposed research applies quantitative physical methods to study biomolecular systems, which is incorporated into the education activities conducted by the principle investigator both in classrooms and laboratories. These activities target students at the levels of high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral, providing them multidisciplinary training at the interface of biological and physical sciences.