Three-dimensional spectroscopy techniques

The physical, chemical cind biological properties of a molecule often depend critically upo the three-dimensional structures, or conformations, that it can adopt. Conformational analysi is the study of the conformations of a molecule and their influence on its properties. Th development of modem conformational analysis is often attributed to D H R Bcirton, wh showed in 1950 that the reactivity of substituted cyclohexanes wcis influenced by th equatoricil or axial nature of the substituents [Beirton 1950]. An equcilly important reaso for the development of conformatiorml analysis at that time Wcis the introduction c analytic il techniques such as infreired spectroscopy, NMR and X-ray crystaillograph] which actucilly enabled the conformation to be determined. 

Present day techniques for structure determination in carbohydrate chemistry are sub stantially the same as those for any other type of compound The full range of modern instrumental methods including mass spectrometry and infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is brought to bear on the problem If the unknown substance is crystalline X ray diffraction can provide precise structural information that m the best cases IS equivalent to taking a three dimensional photograph of the molecule... 

Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression (Section 35.7) is one of the more recent advances in QSAR which has led to the now widely accepted method of Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA). This method makes use of local physicochemical properties such as charge, potential and steric fields that can be determined on a three-dimensional grid that is laid over the chemical stmctures. The determination of steric conformation, by means of X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy, and the quantum mechanical calculation of charge and potential fields are now performed routinely on medium-sized molecules [10]. Modem optimization and prediction techniques such as neural networks (Chapter 44) also have found their way into QSAR. 

NOESY NMR spectroscopy is a homonuclear two-dimensional experiment that identifies proton nuclei that are close to each other in space. If one has already identified proton resonances in one-dimensional NMR spectroscopy or by other methods, it is then possible to determine three dimensional structure through NOESY. For instance, it is possible to determine how large molecules such as proteins fold themselves in three-dimensional space using the NOESY technique. The solution structures thus determined can be compared with solid-state information on the same protein obtained from X-ray crystallographic studies. The pulse sequence for a simple NOESY experiment is shown in Figure 3.23 as adapted from Figure 8.12 of reference 19. 

Aside from the direct techniques of X-ray or electron diffraction, the major possible routes to knowledge of three-dimensional protein structure are prediction from the amino acid sequence and analysis of spectroscopic measurements such as circular dichroism, laser Raman spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance. With the large data base now available of known three-dimensional protein structures, all of these approaches are making considerable progress, and it seems possible that within a few years some combination of noncrystallo-graphic techniques may be capable of correctly determining new protein structures. Because the problem is inherently quite difficult, it will undoubtedly be essential to make the best possible use of all hints available from the known structures. 

Although small in size, the conotoxins contain many of the structural elements present in larger proteins, including a-helices, -sheets and fl-turns, hence, they are often referred to as mini-proteins. Their relative ease of synthesis allows accurate three-dimensional structures to be obtained using techniques such as X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. 

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