Characterizing protein and DNA structures at interfaces can solve fundamental and technological challenges. However, detecting their folding at interfaces in situ and in real time, without interference of bulk media signals, has remained a challenge. The Yan Lab has shown that chiral SFG provides unique vibrational signatures in the protein backbone N-H stretching and amide I modes to identify α-helix, β-sheet and disordered structures. It also offers background-free detection of DNA duplexes, establishing chiral SFG as a valuable tool for exploring kinetics, dynamics and orientation of biomolecules at various interfaces.
(1) Yan, E. C. Y.; Perets, E. A.; Konstantinovsky, D.; Hammes-Schiffer, S. “Detecting Interplay of Chirality, Water, and Interfaces for Elucidating Biological Functions” Acc. Chem. Res. 56, 12, 1494, 2023.
(2) Yan, E. C. Y.; Fu, L.; Wang, Z.; Liu, W. “Biological Macromolecules at Interfaces Probed by Chiral Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy” Special Thematic Issue: Aqueous Interfaces” Chem. Rev. 114, 8471, 2014.
Detecting the first hydration shell structure around biomolecules at interfaces
Understanding water’s role in biological processes is fundamental in life sciences. However, studying the hydration shells around biomolecules in situ under ambient conditions remains challenging due to the bulk background. The Yan Lab has combined experimental and computational approaches to demonstrate that chiral SFG can detect OH stretches of water in the first hydration shell of biomolecules at aqueous interfaces. This offers a powerful technique for investigating water’s role in a range of biological phenomena, including protein folding, denaturation, ligand binding, and allosteric regulation.
(1) Konstantinovsky, D.; Perets, E. A.; Santiago, T.; Velarde, L.; Hammes-Schiffer, S.; Yan, E. C. Y. “Detecting the First Hydration Shell Structure around Biomolecules at Interfaces” ACS Cent. Sci. 8, 10, 1404, 2022.
(2) Perets, E. A.; Konstantinovsky, D.; Fu, L.; Chen, J.; Wang, H.-F.; Hammes-Schiffer, S.; Yan, E. C. Y. “Mirror-image antiparallel β-sheets organize water molecules into superstructures of opposite chirality” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 117, 32902, 2020.