Biophysical Techniques

Jimenez R and Fleming G R 1996 Ultrafast spectroscopy of photosynthetic systems Biophysical Techniques In Photosynthesis ed J Amesz and A J Hoff (Dordrecht Kluwer) pp 63-73... 

The availability of the purified transporter in large quantity has enabled investigation of its secondary structure by biophysical techniques. Comparison of the circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of the transporter in lipid vesicles with the CD spectra of water-soluble proteins of known structure indicated the presence of approximately 82% a-helix, 10% ) -turns and 8% other random coil structure [97]. No / -sheet structure was detected either in this study or in a study of the protein by the same group using polarized Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy [98]. In our laboratory FTIR spectroscopy of the transporter has similarly revealed that... 

Fundamentally, FBDD is a general approach aimed at deriving high affinity ligands for macromolecular targets starting from low MW binders, which are usually identified by the use of the aforementioned biophysical techniques [1, 2, 7, 8]. 

Why should we study the structural properties of the channel macromolecules themselves Although biophysical techniques define the functional properties of voltage-sensitive ion channels clearly, it is important to relate those functional properties to the structure of the channel proteins. We focus first on the discovery of the ion channel proteins, in which three different experimental approaches were used... 

The notion of a common core structure has been further supported by synchrotron X-ray fiber diffraction patterns of several amyloid fibrils the patterns show common reflections in addition to those at 4.7 and 10 A (Sunde et al., 1997). Although these data give some insight into the arrangement of the amyloid fibril core, the exact molecular structure and organization of the proteins making up this common core have yet to be uniquely defined. The inherently noncrystalline, insoluble nature of the fibrils makes their structures difficult to study via traditional techniques of X-ray crystallography and solution NMR. An impressive breadth of biochemical and biophysical techniques has therefore been employed to illuminate additional features of amyloid fibril structure. 

ESI-MS/MS analysis. Also Becker et al. employed a combination of NMR with chemical analysis and additional biophysical techniques to deduce the structure of 2-sulfated, 3-linked ot-L-galactan and a-L-fucans.46 It was indicated that the extremely different conformations of the two polysaccharides could help to explain their distinct anticoagulant properties. 

Barzda, V. 2008. Non-linear contrast mechanisms for optical microscopy. In Biophysical Techniques in Photosynthesis. T. J. Aartsma and J. Matysik, Eds. 35-54. Urbana, IL, USA Springer. 

Holzwarth, A.R. "Data analysis of time-resolved measurements," in Biophysical Techniques in Photosynthesis (Eds. Amesz, J. and Hoff, A. J.), Kluwer, Dordrecht,... 

This section summarizes recent data obtained from biophysical techniques on the nature of the metal ion, catalytic, and modifier sites of E. coli glutamine synthetase. Distance relationships between these sites are given in Fig. 27. This enzyme has many diverse modes of biochemical control. Recent data presented in this review demonstrate that progress is being made toward understanding the structural basis for the control of enzymic catalysis. When x-ray data become available 127), the amino acid groups at the catalytic site will be known and will provide further details concerning the mechanism of the enzymic reaction. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in macromolecules and how their structures are solved. The material is well presented and easy to read and would provide a good starting point for an undergraduate considering going into the field. It also provides sufficient information to be used as a text in a course on biophysical techniques."... 

X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and other biophysical techniques. 

To rigorously test the phase transition model, one must demonstrate that surface lipids actually do melt at the critical temperature, and that melted lipids are in fact more permeable to water than solid ones. A variety of biophysical techniques have been applied to this problem (Table 6.1). These have included direct biophysical measurements of lipid properties, and associated measurements of water-loss. In general, these studies have supported... 

---