|
|
|
|
Dr. Hilty
http://www.chem.tamu.edu/rgroup/hilty/ Our research aims at understanding the structure and functional mechanisms of biological membranes and membrane proteins at an atomic level. Despite the central importance of membranes in providing functional boundaries for cells, current knowledge on membrane proteins is limited. This is mainly due to challenges in obtaining samples suitable for use with conventional experimental methods. We employ recently developed techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to solve some of these problems. In particular, we are interested in elucidating the structural basis for mechanisms of membrane biogenesis and transport by studying proteins from the membrane insertion and translocation machinery of gram-negative bacteria and mitochondria. Important components of our work in this area are the expression, purification and reconstitution of membrane proteins, as well as the application and further development of solution state NMR techniques. In addition, we aim to extend the applicability of NMR by developing methods for the use of hyperpolarization. Such pre-polarization of nuclear spins can yield signal enhancements of up to 10,000 fold when compared to conventional NMR. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is a newly available hyperpolarization technology, which we use to explore specific processes such as ligand binding both at equilibrium and transiently. This is of particular importance to investigate, for example, mechanisms of signaling, as well as to develop new applications for determining ligand binding in drug discovery. |
