Research
Keywords: Protein Science, Molecular Spectroscopy, High pressure Technique, Solution Chemisty
From the viewpoint of molecular science, phenomena of life are the chemical reactions of biomolecules in aqueous medium. Among the biomolecules, proteins, which are polymers synthesized from up to 20 kinds of amino acids, are major players,
performing a vast array of biological functions. Protein folding is essential to gain the functions. On the other hand, misfolding is a trigger to the protein aggregation causing folding diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
We are conducting various research projects associated with the following issues using physicochemical techniques:
- Structural stability of proteins and protein folding reactions
- Molecular mechanism of protein misfolding
- Molecular interactions between solute and solvent in aqueous solution
- High pressure molecular science and biological sciences
Keywords: Protein Science, Molecular Spectroscopy, High Pressure, Water and biomolecules
On promoting research projects, we utilize the following various molecular spectroscopic methods equipped with high pressure techniques and experimental apparatuses for peptides/proteins design.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
FTIR is a very convenient technique to monitor the secondary structure of proteins as well as circular dichromic (CD) spectroscopy. Advantage of FTIR is that it is available for high pressure (giga Pa range) measurements using diamond anvil cell (DAC).
Raman Microscopic Spectroscopy
Raman spectra as well as FTIR spectra are based on molecular vibrations. Unique advantage for protein analysis is to provide structural and chemical information of side chains of aromatic amino acid residues and S-S bonds. Some variations of Raman spectroscopy such as resonance Raman, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy expand the potentiality by drastically enhancing the sensitivity. Our Raman system is available for high pressure measurements.
Circular Dichromism (CD)
CD spectroscopy is one of the most popular techniques for secondary structure analyses of proteins. But it is not available for high pressure measurements. In addition of measurements at ambient pressure, we use this technique to provide information supporting the band assignment of FTIR and Raman spectra.
Molecular Dynamics (MD) Simulation
MD simulation is a powerful technique to obtain a variety of information of molecular structure including solvation structure and their dynamics. Comparison of experimental results and MD analyses is quite useful for comprehensive understanding of the aimed issues.
High Pressure Technique
In high pressure experiments, we mainly use diamond anvil cell (DAC) apparatuses. Diamond is transparent for wide wavelength range of x-ray to far-infrared, and supper material as optics and the most resistant material to pressure.
