1
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Heubach CA, Hasanbasri Z, Abdullin D, Reuter A, Korzekwa B, Saxena S, Schiemann O. Differentiating between Label and Protein Conformers in Pulsed Dipolar EPR Spectroscopy with the dHis-Cu 2+ (NTA) Motif. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202302541. [PMID: 37755452 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202302541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Pulsed dipolar EPR spectroscopy (PDS) in combination with site-directed spin labeling is a powerful tool in structural biology. However, the commonly used spin labels are conjugated to biomolecules via rather long and flexible linkers, which hampers the translation of distance distributions into biomolecular conformations. In contrast, the spin label copper(II)-nitrilotriacetic acid [Cu2+ (NTA)] bound to two histidines (dHis) is rigid and yields narrow distance distributions, which can be more easily translated into biomolecular conformations. Here, we use this label on the 71 kDa Yersinia outer protein O (YopO) to decipher whether a previously experimentally observed bimodal distance distribution is due to two conformations of the biomolecule or of the flexible spin labels. Two different PDS experiments, that is, pulsed electron-electron double resonance (PELDOR aka DEER) and relaxation-induced dipolar modulation enhancement (RIDME), yield unimodal distance distribution with the dHis-Cu2+ (NTA) motif; this result suggests that the α-helical backbone of YopO adopts a single conformation in frozen solution. In addition, we show that the Cu2+ (NTA) label preferentially binds to the target double histidine (dHis) sites even in the presence of 22 competing native histidine residues. Our results therefore suggest that the generation of a His-null background is not required for this spin labeling methodology. Together these results highlight the value of the dHis-Cu2+ (NTA) motif in PDS experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caspar A Heubach
- Clausius-Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Wegelerstr. 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Zikri Hasanbasri
- Department of Chemistry, Chevron Science Center, University of Pittsburgh, 219 Parkman Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Dinar Abdullin
- Clausius-Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Wegelerstr. 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Arne Reuter
- Clausius-Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Wegelerstr. 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany
| | - Benedict Korzekwa
- Clausius-Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Wegelerstr. 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany
- Leibniz-Center for Diabetes Research, University of Düsseldorf, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, Chevron Science Center, University of Pittsburgh, 219 Parkman Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Olav Schiemann
- Clausius-Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Bonn, Wegelerstr. 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany
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2
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Schumann SL, Kotnig S, Kutin Y, Drosou M, Stratmann LM, Streltsova Y, Schnegg A, Pantazis DA, Clever GH, Kasanmascheff M. Structure and Flexibility of Copper-Modified DNA G-Quadruplexes Investigated by 19 F ENDOR Experiments at 34 GHz. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202302527. [PMID: 37602522 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202302527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
DNA G-quadruplexes (GQs) are of great interest due to their involvement in crucial biological processes such as telomerase maintenance and gene expression. Furthermore, they are reported as catalytically active DNAzymes and building blocks in bio-nanotechnology. GQs exhibit remarkable structural diversity and conformational heterogeneity, necessitating precise and reliable tools to unravel their structure-function relationships. Here, we present insights into the structure and conformational flexibility of a unimolecular GQ with high spatial resolution via electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) experiments combined with Cu(II) and fluorine labeling. These findings showcase the successful application of the 19 F-ENDOR methodology at 34 GHz, overcoming the limitations posed by the complexity and scarcity of higher-frequency spectrometers. Importantly, our approach retains both sensitivity and orientational resolution. This integrated study not only enhances our understanding of GQs but also expands the methodological toolbox for studying other macromolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon L Schumann
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Simon Kotnig
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Yury Kutin
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Maria Drosou
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Lukas M Stratmann
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Yana Streltsova
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Alexander Schnegg
- Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Energiekonversion, Stiftstraße 34-36, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Dimitrios A Pantazis
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
| | - Guido H Clever
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Müge Kasanmascheff
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Otto-Hahn-Strasse 6, 44227, Dortmund, Germany
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3
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Little EJ, Mrozek J, Rogers CJ, Liu J, McInnes EJL, Bowen AM, Ardavan A, Winpenny REP. Title: experimental realisation of multi-qubit gates using electron paramagnetic resonance. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7029. [PMID: 37919283 PMCID: PMC10622571 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42169-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Quantum information processing promises to revolutionise computing; quantum algorithms have been discovered that address common tasks significantly more efficiently than their classical counterparts. For a physical system to be a viable quantum computer it must be possible to initialise its quantum state, to realise a set of universal quantum logic gates, including at least one multi-qubit gate, and to make measurements of qubit states. Molecular Electron Spin Qubits (MESQs) have been proposed to fulfil these criteria, as their bottom-up synthesis should facilitate tuning properties as desired and the reproducible production of multi-MESQ structures. Here we explore how to perform a two-qubit entangling gate on a multi-MESQ system, and how to readout the state via quantum state tomography. We propose methods of accomplishing both procedures using multifrequency pulse Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and apply them to a model MESQ structure consisting of two nitroxide spin centres. Our results confirm the methodological principles and shed light on the experimental hurdles which must be overcome to realise a demonstration of controlled entanglement on this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund J Little
- Photon Science Institute and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK
| | - Jacob Mrozek
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, OX1 3PU, Oxford, UK
| | - Ciarán J Rogers
- Photon Science Institute and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK
| | - Junjie Liu
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, OX1 3PU, Oxford, UK
| | - Eric J L McInnes
- Photon Science Institute and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK
| | - Alice M Bowen
- Photon Science Institute and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK.
| | - Arzhang Ardavan
- Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, OX1 3PU, Oxford, UK.
| | - Richard E P Winpenny
- Photon Science Institute and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK.
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4
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Bobylev EO, Passerini L, de Zwart FJ, Poole DA, Mathew S, Huber M, de Bruin B, Reek JNH. Pd 12M nL 24 (for n = 6, 8, 12) nanospheres by post-assembly modification of Pd 12L 24 spheres. Chem Sci 2023; 14:11840-11849. [PMID: 37920352 PMCID: PMC10619623 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc03745b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In this contribution, we describe a post-assembly modification approach to selectively coordinate transition metals in Pd12L24 cuboctahedra. The herein reported approach involves the preparation of Pd12L24 nanospheres with protonated nitrogen donor ligands that are covalently linked at the interior. The so obtained Pd12(LH+)24 nanospheres are shown to be suitable for coordinative post-modification after deprotection by deprotonation. Selective formation of tetra-coordinated MB in Pd12MB6L24, tri-coordinated MB in Pd12MB8L24 nanospheres and two-coordinated MB in Pd12MB12L24 nanospheres is achieved as a result of different nitrogen donor ligands. A combination of pulsed EPR spectroscopy (DEER) to measure Cu-Cu distances in the different spheres, NMR studies and computational investigations, support the presence of the complexes at precise locations of the Pd12MB6L24 nanosphere. The general post-assembly modification methodology can be extended using other transition metal precursors or supramolecular systems and can guide precise formation and investigation of novel transition metal-complex containing nanospheres with well-defined composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduard O Bobylev
- van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Science Park 904 1098 XH Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Leonardo Passerini
- Department of Physics, Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University Niels Bohrweg 2 2333 CA Leiden The Netherlands
| | - Felix J de Zwart
- van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Science Park 904 1098 XH Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - David A Poole
- van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Science Park 904 1098 XH Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Simon Mathew
- van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Science Park 904 1098 XH Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Martina Huber
- Department of Physics, Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden University Niels Bohrweg 2 2333 CA Leiden The Netherlands
| | - Bas de Bruin
- van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Science Park 904 1098 XH Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Joost N H Reek
- van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam Science Park 904 1098 XH Amsterdam The Netherlands
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5
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Wort JL, Ackermann K, Giannoulis A, Bode BE. Enhanced sensitivity for pulse dipolar EPR spectroscopy using variable-time RIDME. J Magn Reson 2023; 352:107460. [PMID: 37167826 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2023.107460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Pulse dipolar EPR spectroscopy (PDS) measurements are an important complementary tool in structural biology and are increasingly applied to macromolecular assemblies implicated in human health and disease at physiological concentrations. This requires ever higher sensitivity, and recent advances have driven PDS measurements into the mid-nanomolar concentration regime, though optimization and acquisition of such measurements remains experimentally demanding and time expensive. One important consideration is that constant-time acquisition represents a hard limit for measurement sensitivity, depending on the maximum measured distance. Determining this distance a priori has been facilitated by machine-learning structure prediction (AlphaFold2 and RoseTTAFold) but is often confounded by non-representative behaviour in frozen solution that may mandate multiple rounds of optimization and acquisition. Herein, we endeavour to simultaneously enhance sensitivity and streamline PDS measurement optimization to one-step by benchmarking a variable-time acquisition RIDME experiment applied to CuII-nitroxide and CuII-CuII model systems. Results demonstrate marked sensitivity improvements of both 5- and 6-pulse variable-time RIDME of between 2- and 5-fold over the constant-time analogues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua L Wort
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex and Centre of Magnetic Resonance, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Scotland
| | - Katrin Ackermann
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex and Centre of Magnetic Resonance, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Scotland
| | - Angeliki Giannoulis
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex and Centre of Magnetic Resonance, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Scotland
| | - Bela E Bode
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex and Centre of Magnetic Resonance, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Scotland.
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6
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Tabares LC, Daniel DT, Vázquez-Ibar JL, Kouklovsky C, Alezra V, Un S. Using the Noncanonical Metallo-Amino Acid [Cu(II)(2,2'-Bipyridin-5-yl)]-alanine to Study the Structures of Proteins. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3368-3375. [PMID: 36995079 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Genetic code expansion allows modification of the physical and chemical properties of proteins by the site-directed insertion of noncanonical amino acids. Here we exploit this technology for measuring nanometer-scale distances in proteins. (2,2'-Bipyridin-5-yl)alanine was incorporated into the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and used as an anchoring point for Cu(II) to create a spin-label. The incorporation of (2,2'-bipyridin-5-yl)alanine directly into the protein resulted in a high-affinity binding site for Cu(II) capable of outcompeting other binding positions in the protein. The resulting Cu(II)-spin label is very compact and not larger than a conventional amino acid. By using 94 GHz electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) pulse dipolar spectroscopy we have been able to determine accurately the distance between two such spin-labels. Our measurements revealed that GFP dimers can adopt different quaternary conformations. The combination of spin-labeling using a paramagnetic nonconventional amino acid with high-frequency EPR techniques resulted in a sensitive method for studying the structures of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro C Tabares
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS UMR 9198, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette F-91198, France
| | - Davis T Daniel
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS UMR 9198, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette F-91198, France
| | - José Luis Vázquez-Ibar
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS UMR 9198, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette F-91198, France
| | - Cyrille Kouklovsky
- Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d'Orsay (ICMMO), Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Orsay F-91405, Cedex France
| | - Valérie Alezra
- Institut de Chimie Moléculaire et des Matériaux d'Orsay (ICMMO), Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Orsay F-91405, Cedex France
| | - Sun Un
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell, Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS UMR 9198, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette F-91198, France
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7
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Galazzo L, Bordignon E. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy in structural-dynamic studies of large protein complexes. Prog Nucl Magn Reson Spectrosc 2023; 134-135:1-19. [PMID: 37321755 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnmrs.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Macromolecular protein assemblies are of fundamental importance for many processes inside the cell, as they perform complex functions and constitute central hubs where reactions occur. Generally, these assemblies undergo large conformational changes and cycle through different states that ultimately are connected to specific functions further regulated by additional small ligands or proteins. Unveiling the 3D structural details of these assemblies at atomic resolution, identifying the flexible parts of the complexes, and monitoring with high temporal resolution the dynamic interplay between different protein regions under physiological conditions is key to fully understanding their properties and to fostering biomedical applications. In the last decade, we have seen remarkable advances in cryo-electron microscopy (EM) techniques, which deeply transformed our vision of structural biology, especially in the field of macromolecular assemblies. With cryo-EM, detailed 3D models of large macromolecular complexes in different conformational states became readily available at atomic resolution. Concomitantly, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) have benefited from methodological innovations which also improved the quality of the information that can be achieved. Such enhanced sensitivity widened their applicability to macromolecular complexes in environments close to physiological conditions and opened a path towards in-cell applications. In this review we will focus on the advantages and challenges of EPR techniques with an integrative approach towards a complete understanding of macromolecular structures and functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Galazzo
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest Ansermet 30, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland.
| | - Enrica Bordignon
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest Ansermet 30, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland.
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8
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Casto J, Bogetti X, Hunter HR, Hasanbasri Z, Saxena S. "Store-bought is fine": Sensitivity considerations using shaped pulses for DEER measurements on Cu(II) labels. J Magn Reson 2023; 349:107413. [PMID: 36867974 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2023.107413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The narrow excitation bandwidth of monochromic pulses is a sensitivity limitation for pulsed dipolar spectroscopy on Cu(II)-based measurements. In response, frequency-swept pulses with large excitation bandwidths have been adopted to probe a greater range of the EPR spectrum. However, much of the work utilizing frequency-swept pulses in Cu(II) distance measurements has been carried out on home-built spectrometers and equipment. Herein, we carry out systematic Cu(II) based distance measurements to demonstrate the capability of chirp pulses on commercial instrumentation. More importantly we delineate sensitivity considerations under acquisition schemes that are necessary for robust distance measurements using Cu(II) labels for proteins. We show that a 200 MHz sweeping bandwidth chirp pulse can improve the sensitivity of long-range distance measurements by factors of three to four. The sensitivity of short-range distances only increases slightly due to special considerations for the chirp pulse duration relative to the period length of the modulated dipolar signal. Enhancements in sensitivity also dramatically reduce measurement collection times enabling rapid collection of orientationally averaged Cu(II) distance measurements in under two hours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Casto
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, United States
| | - Xiaowei Bogetti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, United States
| | - Hannah R Hunter
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, United States
| | - Zikri Hasanbasri
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, United States
| | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, United States.
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9
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Hasanbasri Z, Moriglioni NA, Saxena S. Efficient sampling of molecular orientations for Cu(II)-based DEER on protein labels. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:13275-13288. [PMID: 36939213 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp00404j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Combining rigid Cu(II) labels and pulsed-EPR techniques enables distance constraint measurements that are incisive probes of protein structure and dynamics. However, the labels can lead to a dipolar signal that is biased by the relative orientation of the two spins, which is typically unknown a priori in a bilabeled protein. This effect, dubbed orientational selectivity, becomes a bottleneck in measuring distances. This phenomenon also applies to other pulsed-EPR techniques that probe electron-nucleus interactions. In this work, we dissect orientational selectivity by generating an in silico sample of Cu(II)-labeled proteins to evaluate pulse excitation in the context of double electron-electron resonance (DEER) at Q-band frequencies. This approach enables the observation of the contribution of each protein orientation to the dipolar signal, which provides direct insights into optimizing acquisition schemes to mitigate orientational effects. Furthermore, we incorporate the excitation profile of realistic pulses to identify the excited spins. With this method, we show that rectangular pulses, despite their imperfect inversion capability, can sample similar spin orientations as other sophisticated pulses with the same bandwidth. Additionally, we reveal that the efficiency of exciting spin-pairs in DEER depends on the frequency offset of two pulses used in the experiment and the relative orientation of the two spins. Therefore, we systematically examine the frequency offset of the two pulses used in this double resonance experiment to determine the optimal frequency offset for optimal distance measurements. This procedure leads to a protocol where two measurements are sufficient to acquire orientational-independent DEER at Q-band. Notably, this procedure is feasible with any commercial pulsed-EPR spectrometer. Furthermore, we experimentally validate the computational results using DEER experiments on two different proteins. Finally, we show that increasing the amplitude of the rectangular pulse can increase the efficiency of DEER experiments by almost threefold. Overall, this work provides an attractive new approach for analyzing pulsed-EPR spectroscopy to obtain microscopic nuances that cannot be easily discerned from analytical or numerical calculations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zikri Hasanbasri
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| | | | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
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10
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Rogers CJ, Asthana D, Brookfield A, Chiesa A, Timco GA, Collison D, Natrajan LS, Carretta S, Winpenny REP, Bowen AM. Modelling Conformational Flexibility in a Spectrally Addressable Molecular Multi‐Qubit Model System. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202207947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ciarán J. Rogers
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
| | - Deepak Asthana
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
- Department of Chemistry Ashoka University Sonipat Haryana India
| | - Adam Brookfield
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
| | - Alessandro Chiesa
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche Fisiche e Informatiche Università di Parma 43124 Parma Italy
- INFN–Sezione di Milano-Bicocca Gruppo Collegato di Parma I-43124 Parma Italy
- UdR Parma INSTM I-43124 Parma Italy
| | - Grigore A. Timco
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
| | - David Collison
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
| | - Louise S. Natrajan
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
| | - Stefano Carretta
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche Fisiche e Informatiche Università di Parma 43124 Parma Italy
- INFN–Sezione di Milano-Bicocca Gruppo Collegato di Parma I-43124 Parma Italy
- UdR Parma INSTM I-43124 Parma Italy
| | - Richard E. P. Winpenny
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
| | - Alice M. Bowen
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Department of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PL UK
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11
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Rogers CJ, Asthana D, Brookfield A, Chiesa A, Timco GA, Collison D, Natrajan LS, Carretta S, Winpenny REP, Bowen AM. Modelling Conformational Flexibility in a Spectrally Addressable Molecular Multi-Qubit Model System. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022; 61:e202207947. [PMID: 36222278 PMCID: PMC9828767 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202207947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Dipolar coupled multi-spin systems have the potential to be used as molecular qubits. Herein we report the synthesis of a molecular multi-qubit model system with three individually addressable, weakly interacting, spin 1 / 2 ${{ 1/2 }}$ centres of differing g-values. We use pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) techniques to characterise and separately address the individual electron spin qubits; CuII , Cr7 Ni ring and a nitroxide, to determine the strength of the inter-qubit dipolar interaction. Orientation selective Relaxation-Induced Dipolar Modulation Enhancement (os-RIDME) detecting across the CuII spectrum revealed a strongly correlated CuII -Cr7 Ni ring relationship; detecting on the nitroxide resonance measured both the nitroxide and CuII or nitroxide and Cr7 Ni ring correlations, with switchability of the interaction based on differing relaxation dynamics, indicating a handle for implementing EPR-based quantum information processing (QIP) algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ciarán J. Rogers
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK
| | - Deepak Asthana
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK,Department of ChemistryAshoka UniversitySonipatHaryanaIndia
| | - Adam Brookfield
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK
| | - Alessandro Chiesa
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche Fisiche e InformaticheUniversità di Parma43124ParmaItaly,INFN–Sezione di Milano-BicoccaGruppo Collegato di ParmaI-43124ParmaItaly,UdR ParmaINSTMI-43124ParmaItaly
| | - Grigore A. Timco
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK
| | - David Collison
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK
| | - Louise S. Natrajan
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK
| | - Stefano Carretta
- Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche Fisiche e InformaticheUniversità di Parma43124ParmaItaly,INFN–Sezione di Milano-BicoccaGruppo Collegato di ParmaI-43124ParmaItaly,UdR ParmaINSTMI-43124ParmaItaly
| | - Richard E. P. Winpenny
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK
| | - Alice M. Bowen
- National Research Facility for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyDepartment of Chemistry and Photon Science InstituteThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUK
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12
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Bogetti X, Hasanbasri Z, Hunter HR, Saxena S. An optimal acquisition scheme for Q-band EPR distance measurements using Cu 2+-based protein labels. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:14727-14739. [PMID: 35574729 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp01032a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in site-directed Cu2+ labeling of proteins and nucleic acids have added an attractive new methodology to measure the structure-function relationship in biomolecules. Despite the promise, accessing the higher sensitivity of Q-band Double Electron Electron Resonance (DEER) has been challenging for Cu2+ labels designed for proteins. Q-band DEER experiments on this label typically require many measurements at different magnetic fields, since the pulses can excite only a few orientations at a given magnetic field. Herein, we analyze such orientational effects through simulations and show that three DEER measurements, at strategically selected magnetic fields, are generally sufficient to acquire an orientational-averaged DEER time trace for this spin label at Q-band. The modeling results are experimentally verified on Cu2+ labeled human glutathione S-transferase (hGSTA1-1). The DEER distance distribution measured at the Q-band shows good agreement with the distance distribution sampled by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and X-band experiments. The concordance of MD sampled distances and experimentally measured distances adds growing evidence that MD simulations can accurately predict distances for the Cu2+ labels, which remains a key bottleneck for the commonly used nitroxide label. In all, this minimal collection scheme reduces data collection time by as much as six-fold and is generally applicable to many octahedrally coordinated Cu2+ systems. Furthermore, the concepts presented here may be applied to other metals and pulsed EPR experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaowei Bogetti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| | - Zikri Hasanbasri
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| | - Hannah R Hunter
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
| | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
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13
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Keeley J, Choudhury T, Galazzo L, Bordignon E, Feintuch A, Goldfarb D, Russell H, Taylor MJ, Lovett JE, Eggeling A, Fábregas Ibáñez L, Keller K, Yulikov M, Jeschke G, Kuprov I. Neural networks in pulsed dipolar spectroscopy: A practical guide. J Magn Reson 2022; 338:107186. [PMID: 35344921 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2022.107186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This is a methodological guide to the use of deep neural networks in the processing of pulsed dipolar spectroscopy (PDS) data encountered in structural biology, organic photovoltaics, photosynthesis research, and other domains featuring long-lived radical pairs and paramagnetic metal ions. PDS uses distance dependence of magnetic dipolar interactions; measuring a single well-defined distance is straightforward, but extracting distance distributions is a hard and mathematically ill-posed problem requiring careful regularisation and background fitting. Neural networks do this exceptionally well, but their "robust black box" reputation hides the complexity of their design and training - particularly when the training dataset is effectively infinite. The objective of this paper is to give insight into training against simulated databases, to discuss network architecture choices, to describe options for handling DEER (double electron-electron resonance) and RIDME (relaxation-induced dipolar modulation enhancement) experiments, and to provide a practical data processing flowchart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Keeley
- School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Tajwar Choudhury
- School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Galazzo
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest Ansermet 30, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Enrica Bordignon
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Geneva, Quai Ernest Ansermet 30, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Akiva Feintuch
- Department of Chemical Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Daniella Goldfarb
- Department of Chemical Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Hannah Russell
- SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy and BSRC, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Taylor
- SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy and BSRC, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS, United Kingdom
| | - Janet E Lovett
- SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy and BSRC, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS, United Kingdom
| | - Andrea Eggeling
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 2, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Luis Fábregas Ibáñez
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 2, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Katharina Keller
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 2, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Maxim Yulikov
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 2, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Gunnar Jeschke
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 2, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Ilya Kuprov
- School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
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14
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Abstract
Different types of spin labels are currently available for structural studies of biomolecules both in vitro and in cells using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and pulse dipolar spectroscopy (PDS). Each type of label has its own advantages and disadvantages, that will be addressed in this chapter. The spectroscopically distinct properties of the labels have fostered new applications of PDS aimed to simultaneously extract multiple inter-label distances on the same sample. In fact, combining different labels and choosing the optimal strategy to address their inter-label distances can increase the information content per sample, and this is pivotal to better characterize complex multi-component biomolecular systems. In this review, we provide a brief background of the spectroscopic properties of the four most common orthogonal spin labels for PDS measurements and focus on the various methods at disposal to extract homo- and hetero-label distances in proteins. We also devote a section to possible artifacts arising from channel crosstalk and provide few examples of applications in structural biology.
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15
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Giannoulis A, Cordes DB, Slawin AMZ, Bode BE. A Low-Spin CoII/Nitroxide Complex for Distance Measurements at Q-Band Frequencies. Magnetochemistry 2022; 8:43. [DOI: 10.3390/magnetochemistry8040043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Pulse dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (PDS) is continuously furthering the understanding of chemical and biological assemblies through distance measurements in the nanometer range. New paramagnets and pulse sequences can provide structural insights not accessible through other techniques. In the pursuit of alternative spin centers for PDS, we synthesized a low-spin CoII complex bearing a nitroxide (NO) moiety, where both the CoII and NO have an electron spin S of 1/2. We measured CoII-NO distances with the well-established double electron–electron resonance (DEER aka PELDOR) experiment, as well as with the five- and six-pulse relaxation-induced dipolar modulation enhancement (RIDME) spectroscopies at Q-band frequencies (34 GHz). We first identified challenges related to the stability of the complex in solution via DEER and X-ray crystallography and showed that even in cases where complex disproportionation is unavoidable, CoII-NO PDS measurements are feasible and give good signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios. Specifically, DEER and five-pulse RIDME exhibited an SNR of ~100, and while the six-pulse RIDME exhibited compromised SNR, it helped us minimize unwanted signals from the RIDME traces. Last, we demonstrated RIDME at a 10 μM sample concentration. Our results demonstrate paramagnetic CoII to be a feasible spin center in medium magnetic fields with opportunities for PDS studies involving CoII ions.
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16
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Klose D, Vemulapalli SPB, Richman M, Rudnick S, Aisha V, Abayev M, Chemerovski M, Shviro M, Zitoun D, Majer K, Wili N, Goobes G, Griesinger C, Jeschke G, Rahimipour S. Cu 2+-Induced self-assembly and amyloid formation of a cyclic D,L-α-peptide: structure and function. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:6699-6715. [PMID: 35234757 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp05415e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In a wide spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases, self-assembly of pathogenic proteins to cytotoxic intermediates is accelerated by the presence of metal ions such as Cu2+. Only low concentrations of these early transient oligomeric intermediates are present in a mixture of species during fibril formation, and hence information on the extent of structuring of these oligomers is still largely unknown. Here, we investigate dimers as the first intermediates in the Cu2+-driven aggregation of a cyclic D,L-α-peptide architecture. The unique structural and functional properties of this model system recapitulate the self-assembling properties of amyloidogenic proteins including β-sheet conformation and cross-interaction with pathogenic amyloids. We show that a histidine-rich cyclic D,L-α-octapeptide binds Cu2+ with high affinity and selectivity to generate amyloid-like cross-β-sheet structures. By taking advantage of backbone amide methylation to arrest the self-assembly at the dimeric stage, we obtain structural information and characterize the degree of local order for the dimer. We found that, while catalytic amounts of Cu2+ promote aggregation of the peptide to fibrillar structures, higher concentrations dose-dependently reduce fibrillization and lead to formation of spherical particles, showing self-assembly to different polymorphs. For the initial self-assembly step to the dimers, we found that Cu2+ is coordinated on average by two histidines, similar to self-assembled peptides, indicating that a similar binding interface is perpetuated during Cu2+-driven oligomerization. The dimer itself is found in heterogeneous conformations that undergo dynamic exchange, leading to the formation of different polymorphs at the initial stage of the aggregation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Klose
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Sahithya Phani Babu Vemulapalli
- NMR-based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. .,Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Michal Richman
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
| | - Safra Rudnick
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel. .,Bar-Ilan Institute for Technology and Advanced Materials (BINA), Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Vered Aisha
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
| | - Meital Abayev
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
| | - Marina Chemerovski
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
| | - Meital Shviro
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel. .,Bar-Ilan Institute for Technology and Advanced Materials (BINA), Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - David Zitoun
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel. .,Bar-Ilan Institute for Technology and Advanced Materials (BINA), Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Katharina Majer
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Nino Wili
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Gil Goobes
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
| | - Christian Griesinger
- NMR-based Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Gunnar Jeschke
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Shai Rahimipour
- Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
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17
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Abstract
The study of ever more complex biomolecular assemblies implicated in human health and disease is facilitated by a suite of complementary biophysical methods. Pulse dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (PDS) is a powerful tool that provides highly precise geometric constraints in frozen solutions; however, the drive toward PDS at physiologically relevant sub-μM concentrations is limited by the currently achievable concentration sensitivity. Recently, PDS using a combination of nitroxide- and CuII-based spin labels allowed measuring a 500 nM concentration of a model protein. Using commercial instrumentation and spin labels, we demonstrate CuII-CuII and nitroxide-nitroxide PDS measurements at protein concentrations below previous examples reaching 500 and 100 nM, respectively. These results demonstrate the general feasibility of sub-μM PDS measurements at short to intermediate distances (∼1.5 to 3.5 nm), and are of particular relevance for applications where the achievable concentration is limiting.
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18
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Casto J, Mandato A, Saxena S. dHis-troying Barriers: Deuteration Provides a Pathway to Increase Sensitivity and Accessible Distances for Cu 2+ Labels. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:4681-4685. [PMID: 33979151 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Recently, site-directed Cu2+ labeling has emerged as an incisive biophysical tool to directly report on distance constraints that pertain to the structure, conformational transitions, and dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids. However, short phase memory times inherent to the Cu2+ labels limit measurable distances to 4-5 nm. In this work we systematically examine different methods to dampen electron-nuclear and electron-electron coupled interactions to decrease rapid relaxation. We show that using Cu2+ spin concentrations up to ca. 800 μM has an invariant effect on relaxation and that increasing the cryoprotectant concentration reduces contributions of solvent protons to relaxation. On the other hand, the deuteration of protein and solvent dramatically increases the duration of the dipolar modulated signal by over 6-fold to 32 μs. Based on this increase in signal longevity, distances up to 9 nm and beyond can potentially be measured with Cu2+ labels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Casto
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Alysia Mandato
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
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19
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Gamble Jarvi A, Bogetti X, Singewald K, Ghosh S, Saxena S. Going the dHis-tance: Site-Directed Cu 2+ Labeling of Proteins and Nucleic Acids. Acc Chem Res 2021; 54:1481-1491. [PMID: 33476119 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.0c00761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
In this Account, we showcase site-directed Cu2+ labeling in proteins and DNA, which has opened new avenues for the measurement of the structure and dynamics of biomolecules using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. In proteins, the spin label is assembled in situ from natural amino acid residues and a metal complex and requires no post-expression synthetic modification or purification procedures. The labeling scheme exploits a double histidine (dHis) motif, which utilizes endogenous or site-specifically mutated histidine residues to coordinate a Cu2+ complex. Pulsed EPR measurements on such Cu2+-labeled proteins potentially yield distance distributions that are up to 5 times narrower than the common protein spin label-the approach, thus, overcomes the inherent limitation of the current technology, which relies on a spin label with a highly flexible side chain. This labeling scheme provides a straightforward method that elucidates biophysical information that is costly, complicated, or simply inaccessible by traditional EPR labels. Examples include the direct measurement of protein backbone dynamics at β-sheet sites, which are largely inaccessible through traditional spin labels, and rigid Cu2+-Cu2+ distance measurements that enable higher precision in the analysis of protein conformations, conformational changes, interactions with other biomolecules, and the relative orientations of two labeled protein subunits. Likewise, a Cu2+ label has been developed for use in DNA, which is small, is nucleotide independent, and is positioned within the DNA helix. The placement of the Cu2+ label directly reports on the biologically relevant backbone distance. Additionally, for both of these labeling techniques, we have developed models for interpretation of the EPR distance information, primarily utilizing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Initial results using force fields developed for both protein and DNA labels have agreed with experimental results, which has been a major bottleneck for traditional spin labels. Looking ahead, we anticipate new combinations of MD and EPR to further our understanding of protein and DNA conformational changes, as well as working synergistically to investigate protein-DNA interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin Gamble Jarvi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Xiaowei Bogetti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Kevin Singewald
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Shreya Ghosh
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
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20
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Abstract
Recently, applications of swept-frequency pulses proved to be a useful approach to circumvent the problem of limited excitation bandwidth in pulsed ESR posed by conventional pulses. Here, we present a chirped excitation sequence, CHirped ORdered pulses for Ultra-broadband Spectroscopy (CHORUS), for ultra-broadband ESR spectroscopy. It will be demonstrated that the application of this sequence can address the problems of excitation non-uniformity and sensitivity to instrumental instabilities to a greater extent compared to the current state of the art. This sequence is highly promising for finding applications beyond single excitation in many ESR experiments. Theoretical and experimental results for the proposed method are presented along with calibration strategies for experimental implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Baptiste Verstraete
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
| | - William K Myers
- Centre for Advanced ESR, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QR, United Kingdom
| | - Mohammadali Foroozandeh
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TA, United Kingdom
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21
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Stratmann LM, Kutin Y, Kasanmascheff M, Clever GH. Precise Distance Measurements in DNA G-Quadruplex Dimers and Sandwich Complexes by Pulsed Dipolar EPR Spectroscopy. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021; 60:4939-4947. [PMID: 33063395 PMCID: PMC7984025 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202008618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 09/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
DNA G-quadruplexes show a pronounced tendency to form higher-order structures, such as π-stacked dimers and aggregates with aromatic binding partners. Reliable methods for determining the structure of these non-covalent adducts are scarce. Here, we use artificial square-planar Cu(pyridine)4 complexes, covalently incorporated into tetramolecular G-quadruplexes, as rigid spin labels for detecting dimeric structures and measuring intermolecular Cu2+ -Cu2+ distances via pulsed dipolar EPR spectroscopy. A series of G-quadruplex dimers of different spatial dimensions, formed in tail-to-tail or head-to-head stacking mode, were unambiguously distinguished. Measured distances are in full agreement with results of molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, intercalation of two well-known G-quadruplex binders, PIPER and telomestatin, into G-quadruplex dimers resulting in sandwich complexes was investigated, and previously unknown binding modes were discovered. Additionally, we present evidence that free G-tetrads also intercalate into dimers. Our transition metal labeling approach, combined with pulsed EPR spectroscopy, opens new possibilities for examining structures of non-covalent DNA aggregates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas M. Stratmann
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
| | - Yury Kutin
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
| | - Müge Kasanmascheff
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
| | - Guido H. Clever
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical BiologyTU Dortmund UniversityOtto-Hahn-Strasse 644227DortmundGermany
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22
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Šimėnas M, O'Sullivan J, Zollitsch CW, Kennedy O, Seif-Eddine M, Ritsch I, Hülsmann M, Qi M, Godt A, Roessler MM, Jeschke G, Morton JJL. A sensitivity leap for X-band EPR using a probehead with a cryogenic preamplifier. J Magn Reson 2021; 322:106876. [PMID: 33264732 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmr.2020.106876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Inspired by the considerable success of cryogenically cooled NMR cryoprobes, we present an upgraded X-band EPR probehead, equipped with a cryogenic low-noise preamplifier. Our setup suppresses source noise, can handle the high microwave powers typical in X-band pulsed EPR, and is compatible with the convenient resonator coupling and sample access found on commercially available spectrometers. Our approach allows standard pulsed and continuous-wave EPR experiments to be performed at X-band frequency with significantly increased sensitivity compared to the unmodified setup. The probehead demonstrates a voltage signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enhancement by a factor close to 8× at a temperature of 6 K, and remains close to 2× at room temperature. By further suppressing room-temperature noise at the expense of reduced microwave power (and thus minimum π-pulse length), the factor of SNR improvement approaches 15 at 6 K, corresponding to an impressive 200-fold reduction in EPR measurement time. We reveal the full potential of this probehead by demonstrating such SNR improvements using a suite of typical hyperfine and dipolar spectroscopy experiments on exemplary samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mantas Šimėnas
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK.
| | - James O'Sullivan
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK
| | | | - Oscar Kennedy
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK
| | - Maryam Seif-Eddine
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Irina Ritsch
- ETH Zürich, Department of Physical Chemistry, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Miriam Hülsmann
- Faculty of Chemistry and Center for Molecular Materials (CM2), Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, Bielefeld 33615, Germany
| | - Mian Qi
- Faculty of Chemistry and Center for Molecular Materials (CM2), Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, Bielefeld 33615, Germany
| | - Adelheid Godt
- Faculty of Chemistry and Center for Molecular Materials (CM2), Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, Bielefeld 33615, Germany
| | - Maxie M Roessler
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, London W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Gunnar Jeschke
- ETH Zürich, Department of Physical Chemistry, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 2, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - John J L Morton
- London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK; Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, UCL, London WC1E 7JE, UK.
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23
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Stratmann LM, Kutin Y, Kasanmascheff M, Clever GH. Präzise Abstandsmessungen in DNA‐G‐Quadruplex‐Dimeren und Sandwichkomplexen über gepulste dipolare EPR‐Spektroskopie. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202008618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lukas M. Stratmann
- Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie TU Dortmund Otto-Hahn-Straße 6 44227 Dortmund Deutschland
| | - Yury Kutin
- Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie TU Dortmund Otto-Hahn-Straße 6 44227 Dortmund Deutschland
| | - Müge Kasanmascheff
- Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie TU Dortmund Otto-Hahn-Straße 6 44227 Dortmund Deutschland
| | - Guido H. Clever
- Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie TU Dortmund Otto-Hahn-Straße 6 44227 Dortmund Deutschland
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24
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Ghosh S, Lawless MJ, Brubaker HJ, Singewald K, Kurpiewski MR, Jen-Jacobson L, Saxena S. Cu2+-based distance measurements by pulsed EPR provide distance constraints for DNA backbone conformations in solution. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:e49. [PMID: 32095832 PMCID: PMC7229862 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has become an important tool to probe conformational changes in nucleic acids. An array of EPR labels for nucleic acids are available, but they often come at the cost of long tethers, are dependent on the presence of a particular nucleotide or can be placed only at the termini. Site directed incorporation of Cu2+-chelated to a ligand, 2,2'dipicolylamine (DPA) is potentially an attractive strategy for site-specific, nucleotide independent Cu2+-labelling in DNA. To fully understand the potential of this label, we undertook a systematic and detailed analysis of the Cu2+-DPA motif using EPR and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We used continuous wave EPR experiments to characterize Cu2+ binding to DPA as well as optimize Cu2+ loading conditions. We performed double electron-electron resonance (DEER) experiments at two frequencies to elucidate orientational selectivity effects. Furthermore, comparison of DEER and MD simulated distance distributions reveal a remarkable agreement in the most probable distances. The results illustrate the efficacy of the Cu2+-DPA in reporting on DNA backbone conformations for sufficiently long base pair separations. This labelling strategy can serve as an important tool for probing conformational changes in DNA upon interaction with other macromolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shreya Ghosh
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Matthew J Lawless
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Hanna J Brubaker
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Kevin Singewald
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Michael R Kurpiewski
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Linda Jen-Jacobson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
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25
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Scherer A, Tischlik S, Weickert S, Wittmann V, Drescher M. Optimising broadband pulses for DEER depends on concentration and distance range of interest. Magn Reson (Gott) 2020; 1:59-74. [PMID: 37904889 PMCID: PMC10500711 DOI: 10.5194/mr-1-59-2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
EPR distance determination in the nanometre region has become an important tool for studying the structure and interaction of macromolecules. Arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs), which have recently become commercially available for EPR spectrometers, have the potential to increase the sensitivity of the most common technique, double electron-electron resonance (DEER, also called PELDOR), as they allow the generation of broadband pulses. There are several families of broadband pulses, which are different in general pulse shape and the parameters that define them. Here, we compare the most common broadband pulses. When broadband pulses lead to a larger modulation depth, they also increase the background decay of the DEER trace. Depending on the dipolar evolution time, this can significantly increase the noise level towards the end of the form factor and limit the potential increase in the modulation-to-noise ratio (MNR). We found asymmetric hyperbolic secant (HS{ 1 , 6 } ) pulses to perform best for short DEER traces, leading to a MNR improvement of up to 86 % compared to rectangular pulses. For longer traces we found symmetric hyperbolic secant (HS{ 1 , 1 } ) pulses to perform best; however, the increase compared to rectangular pulses goes down to 43 %.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Scherer
- Department of Chemistry and Konstanz Research School Chemical Biology,
University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Sonja Tischlik
- Department of Chemistry and Konstanz Research School Chemical Biology,
University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Sabrina Weickert
- Department of Chemistry and Konstanz Research School Chemical Biology,
University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Valentin Wittmann
- Department of Chemistry and Konstanz Research School Chemical Biology,
University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Malte Drescher
- Department of Chemistry and Konstanz Research School Chemical Biology,
University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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26
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Bogetti X, Ghosh S, Gamble Jarvi A, Wang J, Saxena S. Molecular Dynamics Simulations Based on Newly Developed Force Field Parameters for Cu 2+ Spin Labels Provide Insights into Double-Histidine-Based Double Electron-Electron Resonance. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:2788-2797. [PMID: 32181671 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c00739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) in combination with the recently developed double-histidine (dHis)-based Cu2+ spin labeling has provided valuable insights into protein structure and conformational dynamics. To relate sparse distance constraints measured by EPR to protein fluctuations in solution, modeling techniques are needed. In this work, we have developed force field parameters for Cu2+-nitrilotriacetic and Cu2+-iminodiacetic acid spin labels. We employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to capture the atomic-level details of dHis-labeled protein fluctuations. The interspin distances extracted from 200 ns MD trajectories show good agreement with the experimental results. The MD simulations also illustrate the dramatic rigidity of the Cu2+ labels compared to the standard nitroxide spin label. Further, the relative orientations between spin-labeled sites were measured to provide insight into the use of double electron-electron resonance (DEER) methods for such labels. The relative mean angles, as well as the standard deviations of the relative angles, agree well in general with the spectral simulations published previously. The fluctuations of relative orientations help rationalize why orientation selectivity effects are minimal at X-band frequencies, but observable at the Q-band for such labels. In summary, the results show that by combining the experimental results with MD simulations precise information about protein conformations as well as flexibility can be obtained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaowei Bogetti
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Shreya Ghosh
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Austin Gamble Jarvi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Junmei Wang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, United States
| | - Sunil Saxena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
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27
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Abdullin D, Schiemann O. Pulsed Dipolar EPR Spectroscopy and Metal Ions: Methodology and Biological Applications. Chempluschem 2020; 85:353-372. [DOI: 10.1002/cplu.201900705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Dinar Abdullin
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical ChemistryUniversity of Bonn Wegelerstr. 12 53115 Bonn Germany
| | - Olav Schiemann
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical ChemistryUniversity of Bonn Wegelerstr. 12 53115 Bonn Germany
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28
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Keller K, Ritsch I, Hintz H, Hülsmann M, Qi M, Breitgoff FD, Klose D, Polyhach Y, Yulikov M, Godt A, Jeschke G. Accessing distributions of exchange and dipolar couplings in stiff molecular rulers with Cu(ii) centres. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:21707-21730. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cp03105d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Novel approaches to quantitatively analyse distributed exchange couplings are described and tested on experimental data sets for stiff synthetic molecules.
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