A characteristic property of unfolded and disordered proteins is their high molecular flexibility, which enables the exploration of a large conformational space. We present neutron scattering experiments on the dynamics of denatured and native folded bovine serum albumin (BSA) in solution over the full time-range that is accessible via neutron spectroscopy (1,2). In a first set of experiments...
Aureochromes function as blue-light-regulated transcription factors in algae. Their basic region leucine zipper (bZIP) effector domain binds DNA specifically while a light-, oxygen-, or voltage-sensitive (LOV) domain acts as the sensor. Due to the inversed arrangement of sensor and effector, aureochromes are interesting for studying their mechanism and for the engineering of new optogenetic...
Using the stopped-flow technique for classical in situ small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments enables to study fast structure formation processes like the formation and growth of organic nanoparticles (NPs) with a temporal resolution in the regime of milliseconds. The statistics of short time frames can be enhanced during the post processing by adding the detected neutrons of each...
Synchrotron based nuclear resonance scattering techniques are ideal tools to investigate electronic and dynamic properties of iron centers in chemical and biological systems. During the last years Nuclear Inelastic Scattering (NIS) also called Nuclear Resonance Vibrational Spectroscopy (NRVS) has been used to detect iron based vibrational modes of iron proteins and chemical model complexes. We...
In the fish ear, the basics of the relative motion between the calcareous otolith and the underlying sensory epithelium (SE) are still elusive. The few experimental studies and mathematical modeling indicated that otolith motion is mass-, shape- and frequency-dependent. Yet, it is widely unknown how 3D-otolith shape affects otolith motion and if this translates into differential patterns of...
The function of the eye is dependent on a transparent, refractive, and deformable eye lens. These physical properties are realized by a crowded mixture of mainly crystallin proteins within the eye lens cells. The underlying biophysical mechanisms are not only of fundamental interest, but highly relevant to better understand and treat eye conditions such as presbyopia and cataract.
We present...
