Investigating Membrane Proteins with Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

生命过程化学（CLP）计划的这项研究奖支持了加里A教授的工作。Lorigan在俄亥俄州牛津的迈阿密大学化学和生物化学系使用电子顺磁共振（EPR）光谱法探测膜肽的结构。 膜肽很难研究，因为它们非常疏水。 因此，肽被掺入脂质双层膜中。 拟议的研究的目的是开发国家的最先进的EPR光谱技术，以探测完整的膜肽的结构特性。这些技术将广泛适用于所有肽和蛋白质系统。ESEEM光谱的脉冲EPR技术将被用于测量自旋标记物与膜肽上氘原子核之间的短程距离（小于8埃），有望成为化学和生物体系中有价值的生物物理距离测量工具。 EPR光谱比NMR光谱灵敏大约一千倍。 这种新的生物物理技术可以通过提供一种有效和简单的方法来区分α-螺旋，3-10-螺旋和β-折叠结构片段，从而推动该领域的发展。这项基础研究的潜在未来好处是开发新技术，以获得膜蛋白的结构信息。 这种方法对所有与能量短缺、电子传递、光合作用和温室气体有关的肽和蛋白质都是有用的。 通过这项研究计划，来自不同背景的本科生，研究生和博士后学生接受生物物理化学先进技术的培训，帮助加强美国STEM劳动力。

This research award in the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) program supports work by Professor Gary A. Lorigan in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio to probe the structure of membrane peptides using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Membrane peptides are difficult to study because they are very hydrophobic. Thus, the peptides are incorporated into a lipid bilayer membrane. The objective of the proposed research is to develop state-of-the-art EPR spectroscopic techniques to probe the structural properties of integral membrane peptides. These techniques will be widely applicable to all peptide and protein systems. The pulsed EPR technique of ESEEM spectroscopy will be used to measure short-range distances (less than 8 Angstroms) between a spin label and deuterium nuclei on integral membrane peptides.It is expected that the ESEEM technique will become a valuable biophysical tool for measuring distances on chemical and biological systems. EPR spectroscopy is approximately a thousand fold more sensitive than NMR spectroscopy. This new biophysical technique can move the field forward by providing an efficient and easy way to distinguish between alpha-helical, 3-10-helical and beta-sheet structural segments. The potential future benefits of this basic research are to develop new techniques to obtain structural information on membrane proteins. This methodology is useful for all peptides and proteins, associated with energy shortages, electron transport, photosynthesis, and greenhouse gases. Through this research program undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students from diverse backgrounds are trained in advanced techniques in biophysical chemistry, helping to strengthen the US STEM workforce.