Methods In Protein Structure And Stability Analysis Conformational Stability Size Shape And Surface Of Protein Molecules

Protein research is a frontier field in science. Proteins are widely distributed in plants and animals and are the principal constituents of the protoplasm of all cells, and consist essentially of combinations of a-amino acids in peptide linkages. Twenty different amino acids are commonly found in proteins, and serve as enzymes, structural elements, hormones, immunoglobulins, etc., and are involved throughout the body, and in photosynthesis. This book gathers new leading-edge research from throughout the world in this exciting and exploding field of research.

The subject of this book is the amazing enzyme ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), the enzyme responsible for the conversion of ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides. The prerequisite for DNA-synthesis and DNA-repair in all living cells is the supply of the four deoxyribonucleotides. Such molecules result from the enzymatically difficult radical-induced reduction of ribonucleotides, a multistep chemical process catalyzed by RNR. RNR was the first enzyme in which the presence of an amino acid radical (a tyrosyl) in E. coli Class Ia RNR has been proven; since then several other biological amino acid radical species have been found on e.g. tryptophan, glycine, cysteine, lysine residues and on amino acid derived small cofactors like 2 tryptophanes in thryptophan-trypthanyl-radical or cysteine-tyrosyl-radical in other enzymes. As all known cellular life forms store their genetic information as DNA, RNR is likely to be found in all growing cells of every living organism, a fact that is confirmed by a rapidly increasing number of genomic screenings.

In Protein Structure, Stability, and Folding, Kenneth P. Murphy and a panel of internationally recognized investigators describe some of the newest experimental and theoretical methods for investigating these critical events and processes. Among the techniques discussed are the many methods for calculating many of protein stability and dynamics from knowledge of the structure, and for performing molecular dynamics simulations of protein unfolding. New experimental approaches presented include the use of co-solvents, novel applications of hydrogen exchange techniques, temperature-jump methods for looking at folding events, and new strategies for mutagenesis experiments. Unique in its powerful combination of theory and practice, Protein Structure, Stability, and Folding offers protein and biophysical chemists the means to gain a more comprehensive understanding of some of this complex area by detailing many of the major techniques in use today.

DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY An affordable, easily accessible desk reference on biomanufacturing, focused on downstream recovery and purification Advances in the fundamental knowledge surrounding biotechnology, novel materials, and advanced engineering approaches continue to be translated into bioprocesses that bring new products to market at a significantly faster pace than most other industries. Industrial scale biotechnology and new manufacturing methods are revolutionizing medicine, environmental monitoring and remediation, consumer products, food production, agriculture, and forestry, and continue to be a major area of research. The downstream stage in industrial biotechnology refers to recovery, isolation, and purification of the microbial products from cell debris, processing medium and contaminating biomolecules from the upstream process into a finished product such as biopharmaceuticals and vaccines. Downstream process design has the greatest impact on overall biomanufacturing cost because not only does the biochemistry of different products ( e.g., peptides, proteins, hormones, antibiotics, and complex antigens) dictate different methods for the isolation and purification of these products, but contaminating byproducts can also reduce overall process yield, and may have serious consequences on clinical safety and efficacy. Therefore downstream separation scientists and engineers are continually seeking to eliminate, or combine, unit operations to minimize the number of process steps in order to maximize product recovery at a specified concentration and purity. Based on Wiley’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Biotechnology: Bioprocess, Bioseparation, and Cell Technology, this volume features fifty articles that provide information on down- stream recovery of cells and protein capture; process development and facility design; equipment; PAT in downstream processes; downstream cGMP operations; and regulatory compliance. It covers: Cell wall disruption and lysis Cell recovery by centrifugation and filtration Large-scale protein chromatography Scale down of biopharmaceutical purification operations Lipopolysaccharide removal Porous media in biotechnology Equipment used in industrial protein purification Affinity chromatography Antibody purification, monoclonal and polyclonal Protein aggregation, precipitation and crystallization Freeze-drying of biopharmaceuticals Biopharmaceutical facility design and validation Pharmaceutical bioburden testing Regulatory requirements Ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses on biomanufacturing, biochemical engineering, biopharmaceutical facility design, biochemistry, industrial microbiology, gene expression technology, and cell culture technology, Downstream Industrial Biotechnology is also a highly recommended resource for industry professionals and libraries.

Thermostable Proteins: Structural Stability and Design provides a comprehensive, updated account of the physical basis of enhanced stability of thermophilic proteins and the design of tailor-made thermostable proteins, paving the way for their possible industrial applications. This book is devoted to understanding the survival mechanisms of "thermophilic life forms" at the molecular level with an emphasis on design strategies. The review chapters presented in Thermostable Proteins span a wide range of protein thermostability research. Basic structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic principles are explained and molecular strategies for the adaptation to high temperatures are delineated. In addition, this book covers: Computing and simulation methods in current and future thermostability research, especially in nonempirical situations How rigidity theory is used to improve the thermal adaptation of mesophiles Subtilisin-like serine proteases and their significant engineering applications The state of knowledge concerning structure–function relations and the origins of their structural stability Computational and experimental approaches for the design of proteins with increased thermal stability based on sequences or three-dimensional structures Understanding the molecular basis of how thermostable and hyperthermostable proteins gain and maintain their stability and biological function at high temperatures remains an important scientific challenge. A more detailed knowledge of protein stability not only deepens our understanding of protein structure but also helps in obtaining insights into processes that drive protein activities—folding, unfolding, and misfolding—essential to biological function.

Instrumental techniques for analyzing intrinsically disordered proteins The recently recognized phenomenon of protein intrinsic disorder is gaining significant interest among researchers, especially as the number of proteins and protein domains that have been shown to be intrinsically disordered rapidly grows. The first reference to tackle this little-documented area, Instrumental Analysis of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins: Assessing Structure and Conformation provides researchers with a much-needed, comprehensive summary of recent achievements in the methods for structural characterization of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Chapters discuss: Assessment of IDPs in the living cell Spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of IDPs, including NMR and EPR spectroscopies, FTIR, circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, vibrational methods, and single-molecule analysis Single-molecule techniques applied to the study of IDPs Assessment of IDP size and shape Tools for the analysis of IDP conformational stability Mass spectrometry Approaches for expression and purification of IDPs With contributions from an international selection of leading researchers, Instrumental Analysis of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins: Assessing Structure and Conformation fills an important need in a rapidly growing field. It is required reading for biochemists, biophysicists, molecular biologists, geneticists, cell biologists, physiologists, and specialists in drug design and development, proteomics, and molecular medicine with an interest in proteins and peptides.