Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Complementary Mass Spectrometry Methods For Characterizing Protein Folding, Structure, And Dynamics, Siavash Vahidi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Proteins are involved in virtually every biochemical process. A comprehensive characterization of factors that govern protein function is essential for understanding the biomedical aspects of human health. This dissertation aims to develop complementary mass spectrometry-based methods and apply them to solve problems pertaining to the area of protein structure, folding and dynamics.

‎Chapter 1 uses fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP) to characterize partially disordered conformers populated under semi-denaturing conditions. In FPOP, ·OH generated by laser photolysis of H₂O₂ introduces oxidative modifications at solvent accessible side chains. By contrast, buried sites are protected from radical attack. Using …