Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Mathematisch-Naturwissen­schaft­liche Fakultät - Physik von Makromolekülen

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Mathematisch-Naturwissen­schaft­liche Fakultät | Institut für Physik | Physik von Makromolekülen | Forschungsseminar | Archiv | Abschiedskolloquium: Prof. Dr. Matthias Ballauff (Institut für Physik der HU Berlin und HZB)

Abschiedskolloquium: Prof. Dr. Matthias Ballauff (Institut für Physik der HU Berlin und HZB)

Vortrag zum Thema "Interaction of Proteins and Polyelectrolytes as a Central Problem of Biophysics"
  • Wann 29.10.2019 von 15:15 bis 17:00
  • Wo Lise-Meitner-Haus, Christian-Gerthsen-Hörsaal, Newtonstraße 15, 12489 Berlin
  • iCal

Abschiedskolloquium: Prof. Dr. Matthias Ballauff (Institut für Physik der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin und Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie) spricht zum Thema "Interaction of Proteins and Polyelectrolytes as a Central Problem of Biophysics".

Abstract

A great number of natural macromolecules is highly charged and charge-charge interactions play a decisive role in their biological function. Examples comprise DNA, RNA, or various glycosaminoglycans. In particular, the interaction of these polyelectrolytes with proteins is governed by the release of counterions upon binding and is thus entropy-driven. In my lecture, I’ll give an overview over our recent work on this problem. We have studied in the interaction of well-defined polyelectrolytes with various proteins, both by calorimetry as well as by Molecular Dynamics simulations. Here we analyzed quantitatively the different contributions to the free energy of binding. Moreover, we could investigate the role of water in the process of binding. We give a clear proof that the strong enthalpy-entropy-cancellation is solely due to the release or uptake of water molecules. Directions for further research will be discussed as well.