November 15, 2023 11:15 am
November 15, 2023 12:05 pm
Protein Charge Transfer Spectra: A Label Free UV-visible Window to Probe Biomolecules and their Interactions
Ravi Venkatramani
Associate Professor
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
UV-visible electronic absorption spectra is a useful characterization tool in protein biophysics and biochemistry. However, its application relies on synthetic dyes which absorb in the near UV and visible or a few intrinsic chromophores which may not present in all proteins. I will highlight our discovery of a new optical charge transfer (CT) band spanning 180-800 nm in proteins which significantly expands the set of UV-visible active intrinsic chromophores [1,2]. Our group has shown that this Protein Charge Transfer Spectra (ProCharTS) arises due to the intrinsic electronic properties of charged amino acids and is highly sensitive to their interactions imposed by protein folds [3]. Our conclusions are supported by experimental data from collaborators and other groups. ProCharTS can explain many instances of intrinsic absorption and emission phenomena reported in monomeric protein solutions, biomolecular condensates, and peptide aggregates. I will highlight challenges and future directions for ProCharTS including some exciting possibilities on modelling the spectra of entire proteins.
References
[1] Prasad et. al. Chemical Science, 8, 5416
[2] Mandal, I. et. al. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 123, 10967-10979
[3] Mandal, I. et. al. Faraday Discussions, 207, 115-135
References
[1] Prasad et. al. Chemical Science, 8, 5416
[2] Mandal, I. et. al. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 123, 10967-10979
[3] Mandal, I. et. al. Faraday Discussions, 207, 115-135