Exploring Protein Biophysics Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Nmr) Spectroscopy
3.0
creditsAverage Course Rating
NMR is a spectroscopic technique which provides unique, atomic level insights into the inner workings of biomolecules in aqueous solution and solid state. A wide variety of biophysical properties can be studied by solution state NMR, such as the three dimensional structures of biological macromolecules, their dynamical properties in solution, interactions with other molecules and their physical and chemical properties which modulate structure-function relationships (such electrostatics and redox chemistry). NMR exploits the exquisite sensitivity of magnetic properties of atomic nuclei to their local electronic (and therefore, chemical) environment. As a result, biophysical properties can be studied at atomic resolution, and the global properties of a molecule can be deconstructed in terms of detailed, atomic level information. In addition, interactions between nuclei can be exploited to enhance the information content of NMR spectra via multidimensional (2D and 3D) spectroscopy. Since these properties can be studied in solution, NMR methods serve as an effective complement to X-Ray crystallography and electron microscopy. In this course, we will learn about the basics of NMR spectroscopy, acquire 1D and 2D NMR spectra and use various NMR experiments to characterize and probe biophysical properties of proteins at an atomic level.