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For employment opportunities available at UC Davis, see Jobs. Assistant Professor in ChemistryOpen date: September 3, 2026Next review date: Friday, October 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)Apply by t...

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Binding Affinity Determines the Success of Endogenous CuII-NTA Spin Labeling for In-Cell Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Distance Measurements

In-cell electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy requires robust spin-labeling strategies compatible with cellular conditions. CuII-NTA coordination to genetically engineered double-histidin...

doi.org

doi.org

Binding Affinity Determines the Success of Endogenous CuII-NTA Spin Labeling for In-Cell Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Distance Measurements

In-cell electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy requires robust spin-labeling strategies compatible with cellular conditions. CuII-NTA coordination to genetically engineered double-histidin...

pubs.acs.org

Beyond a Passive Tether: Structural Insights into the Disordered Tail of Hsp90

The molecular chaperone Hsp90 is an abundant and essential homodimer that supports the stability and folding of hundreds of client proteins in cells. Its C-terminal domain (CTD) mediates dimerization and serves as a docking site for cochaperones bearing tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domains, which recognize the conserved MEEVD motif located at the end of an intrinsically disordered CTD tail. Despite its conservation, the structural role of this tail remains poorly understood. We investigated the conformational behavior of the yeast Hsp90 (yHsp90) CTD tail and its response to the binding of the TPR-containing PPIase cochaperone Cpr6. Using site-directed spin labeling with nitroxide and Gd(III) labels, we examined full-length yHsp90 (FL), isolated CTD (IsoC), and tail-truncated variants by double electron–electron resonance (DEER) and EPR spectroscopy. The CTD tails in IsoC and FL adopted distinct conformational ensembles, attributed to intramolecular interactions with the middle domain in FL. Cpr6 binding abolished these differences, indicating disruption of intramolecular tail contacts. In IsoC, the tail also stabilized an additional CTD conformation near the dimer interface that was absent in FL and was lost upon tail truncation, consistent with tail–CTD interactions observed by NMR. This population was reduced upon Cpr6 binding, shifting the IsoC conformational distribution toward that of FL. Additionally, this population was reduced in cellular environments and mimics. Together, our results demonstrate that the disordered CTD tail is an active structural element that modulates both its own conformational ensemble and CTD architecture, highlighting its potential functional relevance in the Hsp90 chaperone cycle.

pubs.acs.org

Crystallographic and EPR-based characterisation of Cu2+-binding to serum albumin: ATCUN coordination and additional sites

Copper homeostasis is essential for mammalian physiology. Serum albumin plays an important role in plasma copper transport and buffering, yet its Cu2+ binding sites have remained incompletely characte...

doi.org

Swapped and non-swapped TRAAK states co-exist in membranes at a ratio influenced by temperature

Nature Communications - TRAAK is expressed in the nervous system and helps regulate neuronal excitability. Here, the authors use EPR to quantify the relative populations of TRAAK’s swapped...

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Swapped and non-swapped TRAAK states co-exist in membranes at a ratio influenced by temperature - Nature Communications

TRAAK is expressed in the nervous system and helps regulate neuronal excitability. Here, the authors use EPR to quantify the relative populations of TRAAK’s swapped and non-swapped cap states in membr...

nature.com

Structural characterization and the role of EPR spectroscopy for protein–polymer conjugates

Protein-polymer conjugates (PPCs) are an important class of therapeutic macromolecules offering improvements in protein stability, circulation time, a…

sciencedirect.com

Scrapping REF should be ‘serious’ option, says Manchester VC - Research Professional News

Duncan Ivison questions “usefulness” of “massive, bureaucratic” research assessment exercise

researchprofessionalnews.com

Biomolecular Science Fellowship Day - St Andrews, Fife (GB) job with UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS | 12848597

The School of Biology at the University of St Andrews is inviting applications from outstanding visionary Research Fellow and Future Leader candida...

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Careers

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C-terminal domain dimerization in yeast Hsp90 is moderately modulated by the other domains

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) serves as a crucial regulator of cellular proteostasis by stabilizing and regulating the activity of numerous substrates, many of which are oncogenic proteins. Therefore,...

cell.com

Chiral molecular 4f qubits by post functionalization

We herein demonstrate the synthesis of a pair of enantiomerically pure YbIII complexes by post-functionalisation of the parent YbIII complex via condensation with an enantiomerically pure chiral amine...

doi.org

Cryogenic and Dissolution DNP NMR on γ-Irradiated Organic Molecules

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) plays a central role in the elucidation of chemical structures but is often limited by low sensitivity. Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (dDNP) emerges as a transformative methodology for both solution-state NMR and metabolic NMR imaging, which could overcome this limitation. Typically, dDNP relies on combining a stable radical with the analyte within a uniform glass under cryogenic conditions. The electron polarization is then transferred through microwave irradiation to the nuclei. The present study explores the use of radicals introduced via γ-irradiation, as bearers of the electron spins that will enhance 1H or 13C nuclides. 1H solid-state NMR spectra of γ-irradiated powders at 1–5 K revealed, upon microwave irradiation, signal enhancements that, in general, were higher than those achieved through conventional glass-based DNP. Transfer of these samples to a solution-state NMR spectrometer via a rapid dissolution driven by a superheated water provided significant enhancements of solution-state 1H NMR signals. Enhancements of 13C signals in the γ-irradiated solids were more modest, as a combined consequence of a low radical concentration and of the dilute concentration of 13C in the natural abundant samples examined. Nevertheless, ca. 700–800-fold enhancements in 13C solution NMR spectra of certain sites recorded at 11.7 T could still be achieved. A total disappearance of the radicals upon performing a dDNP-like aqueous dissolution and a high stability of the samples were found. Overall, the study showcases the advantages and limitations of γ-irradiated radicals as candidates for advancing spectroscopic dDNP-enhanced NMR.

pubs.acs.org

Toward Generalized Solution-State 1H DNP NMR via Particle-Mediated Cross-Relaxation

This study discusses a potential route for enhancing 1H NMR signals in the liquid phase at high magnetic fields for samples on the 100 μL volume scale using dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). The approach involves dispersing an inert powder that is both rich in protons and capable of undergoing DNP with good efficiency at noncryogenic temperatures, and letting the solid 1H polarization thus enhanced pass from the dispersed particles onto the surrounding liquid via spontaneous cross relaxation effects. To this end, BDPA-doped polystyrene (PS) particles in the μm range were suspended in 30 μL of heptane, loaded into 3.2 mm sapphire rotors, and spun at ≈500 Hz for homogeneity purposes in a 14.1 T magnet. Irradiation with ≈13 W at 395 GHz while maintaining temperature in the 185–220 K range thus enhanced the PS proton polarization ≈12-fold within ≈2 s; after ca. 6 s of irradiation, this resulted in ca. 3-fold enhancements of the heptane proton resonances, while preserving their ≤2 Hz line widths. The conditions over which such particle-mediated transfer occurs were explored over a range of sample composition, deuteration and molecular weight; best results were obtained when polarizing a ball-milled powder made of deuterated-PS/PS/BDPA = 86.4/9.6/4.0 suspended on perdeuterated heptane-d16. While the solution-state enhancements provided by this approach are still relatively modest, its generality could open new avenues in DNP-enhanced 1H NMR that do not sacrifice on the volumes, on the high-resolution conditions, or on the multiscan averaging that is customary in contemporary applications.

pubs.acs.org

Professor Thomas Prisner Awarded the 2025 Richard R. Ernst Prize in Magnetic Resonance at EUROMAR 2025

Oulu, Finland – July 7, 2025 – The 2025 Richard R. Ernst Prize in Magnetic Resonance has been awarded to Professor Thomas Prisner of Goethe University Frankfurt, in recognition of his outstanding cont...

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CMR - Seminars

Centre of Magnetic Resonance CMR

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Harnessing Bacterial Viruses to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections at University of St Andrews on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Harnessing Bacterial Viruses to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Infections at University of St Andrews, listed on FindAPhD.com

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Synthesis of Shielded Molecular Radicals for Quantum Information Technologies at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Synthesis of Shielded Molecular Radicals for Quantum Information Technologies at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com

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