Developing a spectroscopic toolkit for probing protein structure and folding

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Understanding protein folding from a molecular perspective is one of the central challenges in modern biophysics. Current experimental techniques only provide a relatively limited view of the ultrafast fluctuations and long-range conformational changes that biomolecules undergo in solution. The first objective of this project is to develop an experimental framework based on ultrafast multidimensional infrared spectroscopy that will measure protein structure with sub- picosecond time resolution, offering a detailed view of non-equilibrium processes such as folding, denaturation, and protein aggregation. The experimental data will be supported by cutting-edge molecular dynamics simulations, which are now possible due to recent developments in distributed computing, as well as structure-frequency maps that provide the connection between molecular structures and vibrational frequencies. Another component of the project will aim at developing a general experimental method to quantify the structure of proteins in solution from an analytical perspective with the goal of implementing methods for measuring the structure, conformational flexibility, and solvent exposure of globular proteins.