Developing a Combined Mass Spectrometry-Chemometrics Approach to Study Macromolecular Large Scale Dynamics and Association

马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的Igor Kaltashov教授和Stephen Eyles博士得到了分析和表面化学项目的支持，以检测和量化溶液中存在的多种蛋白质构象，并研究蛋白质组装。这个想法是利用化学计量学工具，如因子分析来解释在电喷雾电离（ESI）质谱中观察到的蛋白质离子电荷态分布。将详细研究两个过程：(i)哺乳动物血红蛋白的组装和(ii) -乳球蛋白的坦福德过渡和二聚化。如果在这个项目中开发的技术取得成功，它们将允许从实验ESI数据中获得更多有用的构象信息，并可能简化从数据中提取信息的过程。电喷雾质谱法是蛋白质分析的主要方法，在蛋白质组学中有广泛的应用。该项目在了解蛋白质动力学在蛋白质功能中的作用方面具有很大的潜力。学生将在质谱及其在蛋白质生物物理学中的应用方面接受良好的培训。

Professor Igor Kaltashov and Dr. Stephen Eyles of the University of Massachusetts Amherst are supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to detect and quantify multiple protein conformations present in solution, and to study protein assembly. The idea is to utilize chemometric tools such as factor analysis to interpret protein ion charge state distributions observed in electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra. Two processes will be studied in detail: (i) the assembly of mammalian hemoglobin and(ii) the Tanford transition and dimerization of beta-lactoglobulin. If the techniques to be developed in this project are successful, they will allow more useful information on conformations to be obtained from experimental ESI data and may simplify the process of extracting information from the data.Electrospray Ionization mass spectrometry is a major method for analyzing proteins, and is highly used in proteomics. This project has high potential for making contributions in understanding the roles of protein dynamics in protein function. Students would be well-trained in mass spectrometry and its applications to biophysics of proteins.