Blog Post 13: Nano and Proteins Guest Speaker

1.. Post a brief description (and link) to a general overview of MALDI.

A great resource for protein is at the Protein Data Bank at: http://www.pdb.org/pdb/home/home.do

primary can make structures...like a spring

Trtiary Structure- alpha beta structures ... we are able to make models.
Dalton = unit of mass. Think molecular mass- molecular mass of a given molecule of mass = 20 kDa (20,000 Dalton)

m/z = mass to charge ratio... MALDI requires ionization.
MALDI-TOF Mass Spectometry... put dry plate in a vaccuum to observe. need matrix (yellow stuff on sample plate) ionizes assisted laser absorbtion.

KE = 1/2 mv62
Time of Flight (TOF)
Bradykinen(1080.210) and Neurotensin (1673.932) = biological structures that do stuff. 5 parts per million can tell exact identification. (Accurate Mass)
MALDI lets you visualize.
MALDi TOF-TOF = get peptide sequence information. very exciting biological studies like multiple sclorosis. Sample lake water... spin down the cells... put on plate... profile cynobacteria isolated from lakewater. Cool part is it takes minutes to get profile! Hospitals can use this with patients and analyzing there bacteria. Snake venim is another popular profiling use.

2. Post an image (3D) of the following proteins: microcystin LR, collagen, and pick another one of your favorite proteins.

 

3. Post the size of each of these proteins in nanometers.

microcystin LR = 2.496 nm

collagen = 5.364nm

hemoglobin = 4.124 nm

4. Research and post a cool nano-application that involves proteins.

Nanotechnology drives protein engineering, new approach to drug discovery

(Nanowerk News) Using a nanoscale spring built from a molecule of DNA, investigators from the University of California, Los Angeles, have taken a significant step toward a new approach to protein engineering. This new tack to modifying protein function, note the researchers, could lead to novel ways of killing cancer cells.