Dr. Magnus Andersson - Beräkningsbiofysik, Teoretisk Fysik KTH & SciLifeLab

Title: Visualizing structural rearrangements of membrane proteins

Abstract:

Membrane proteins carry out critical cellular processes such as nutrient import and maintenance of various gradients across membranes. Determining how these proteins rearrange their structures to perform their designated tasks is crucial in order to understand membrane protein functionality. While X-ray crystallography can provide high-resolution structural information, the resulting structures are trapped in a crystal lattice and determined at low temperature. Time-resolved Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (TR-WAXS) is an emerging technique that allows monitoring of structural dynamics in solution at room temperature. I will talk about how this method was developed starting from small photoactive chemicals to todays experiments of complex biological macromolecules.