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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Defining Interactions Between Deformable Dna Origami And Lipid Bilayers Through Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Zachary A. Loyd May 2022

Defining Interactions Between Deformable Dna Origami And Lipid Bilayers Through Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Zachary A. Loyd

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.


Impact Of Conformational Change, Solvation Environment, And Post-Translational Modification On Desulfurization Enzyme 2'-Hydroxybiphenyl-2-Sulfinate Desulfinase (Dszb) Stability And Activity, Landon C. Mills Jan 2019

Impact Of Conformational Change, Solvation Environment, And Post-Translational Modification On Desulfurization Enzyme 2'-Hydroxybiphenyl-2-Sulfinate Desulfinase (Dszb) Stability And Activity, Landon C. Mills

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Naturally occurring enzymatic pathways enable highly specific, rapid thiophenic sulfur cleavage occurring at ambient temperature and pressure, which may be harnessed for the desulfurization of petroleum-based fuel. One pathway found in bacteria is a four-step catabolic pathway (the 4S pathway) converting dibenzothiophene (DBT), a common crude oil contaminant, into 2-hydroxybiphenyl (HBP) without disrupting the carbon-carbon bonds. 2’-Hydroxybiphenyl-2-sulfinate desulfinase (DszB), the rate-limiting enzyme in the enzyme cascade, is capable of selectively cleaving carbon-sulfur bonds. Accordingly, understanding the molecular mechanisms of DszB activity may enable development of the cascade as industrial biotechnology. Based on crystallographic evidence, we hypothesized that DszB …


Understanding Carbohydrate Recognition Mechanisms In Non-Catalytic Proteins Through Molecular Simulations, Abhishek A. Kognole Jan 2018

Understanding Carbohydrate Recognition Mechanisms In Non-Catalytic Proteins Through Molecular Simulations, Abhishek A. Kognole

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Non-catalytic protein-carbohydrate interactions are an essential element of various biological events. This dissertation presents the work on understanding carbohydrate recognition mechanisms and their physical significance in two groups of non-catalytic proteins, also called lectins, which play key roles in major applications such as cellulosic biofuel production and drug delivery pathways. A computational approach using molecular modeling, molecular dynamic simulations and free energy calculations was used to study molecular-level protein-carbohydrate and protein-protein interactions. Various microorganisms like bacteria and fungi secret multi-modular enzymes to deconstruct cellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars. The carbohydrate binding modules (CBM) are non-catalytic domains of such enzymes that …


Improving The Thermal Stability Of Cellobiohydrolase Cel7a From Hypocrea Jecorina By Directed Evolution, Frits Goedegebuur, Lydia Dankmeyer, Peter Gualfetti, Saeid Karkehabadi, Henrik Hansson, Suvamay Jana, Vicky Huynh, Bradley R. Kelemen, Paulien Kruithof, Edmund A. Larenas, Pauline J. M. Teunissen, Jerry Ståhlberg, Christina M. Payne, Colin Mitchinson, Mats Sandgren Aug 2017

Improving The Thermal Stability Of Cellobiohydrolase Cel7a From Hypocrea Jecorina By Directed Evolution, Frits Goedegebuur, Lydia Dankmeyer, Peter Gualfetti, Saeid Karkehabadi, Henrik Hansson, Suvamay Jana, Vicky Huynh, Bradley R. Kelemen, Paulien Kruithof, Edmund A. Larenas, Pauline J. M. Teunissen, Jerry Ståhlberg, Christina M. Payne, Colin Mitchinson, Mats Sandgren

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Secreted mixtures of Hypocrea jecorina cellulases are able to efficiently degrade cellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars at large, commercially relevant scales. H. jecorina Cel7A, cellobiohydrolase I, from glycoside hydrolase family 7, is the workhorse enzyme of the process. However, the thermal stability of Cel7A limits its use to processes where temperatures are no higher than 50 °C. Enhanced thermal stability is desirable to enable the use of higher processing temperatures and to improve the economic feasibility of industrial biomass conversion. Here, we enhanced the thermal stability of Cel7A through directed evolution. Sites with increased thermal stability properties were combined, and …


Computing Spatiotemporal Heat Maps Of Lipid Electropore Formation: A Statistical Approach, Willy Wriggers, Frederica Castellani, Julio A. Kovacs, P. Thomas Vernier Apr 2017

Computing Spatiotemporal Heat Maps Of Lipid Electropore Formation: A Statistical Approach, Willy Wriggers, Frederica Castellani, Julio A. Kovacs, P. Thomas Vernier

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

We extend the multiscale spatiotemporal heat map strategies originally developed for interpreting molecular dynamics simulations of well-structured proteins to liquids such as lipid bilayers and solvents. Our analysis informs the experimental and theoretical investigation of electroporation, that is, the externally imposed breaching of the cell membrane under the influence of an electric field of sufficient magnitude. To understand the nanoscale architecture of electroporation, we transform time domain data of the coarse-grained interaction networks of lipids and solvents into spatial heat maps of the most relevant constituent molecules. The application takes advantage of our earlier graph-based activity functions by accounting for …


Numerical Study Of Lipid Translocation Driven By Nanoporation Due To Multiple High-Intensity, Ultrashort Electrical Pulses, Viswanadham Sridhara, Ravindra P. Joshi Jan 2014

Numerical Study Of Lipid Translocation Driven By Nanoporation Due To Multiple High-Intensity, Ultrashort Electrical Pulses, Viswanadham Sridhara, Ravindra P. Joshi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The dynamical translocation of lipids from one leaflet to another due to membrane permeabilization driven by nanosecond, high-intensity (>100 kV/cm) electrical pulses has been probed. Our simulations show that lipid molecules can translocate by diffusion through water-filled nanopores which form following high voltage application. Our focus is on multiple pulsing, and such simulations are relevant to gauge the time duration over which nanopores might remain open, and facilitate continued lipid translocations and membrane transport. Our results are indicative of a N1/2 scaling with pulse number for the pore radius. These results bode well for the use of pulse …