Kinetics of Enzymes in Crowded Environment – In-vitro modeling of Biological entities

Enzymes are macromolecules that speed up the rate of chemical reactions by many orders of magnitude. Different classes of enzymes are present in a cell at different copy numbers to control and fine-tune its metabolism. The kinetics of enzymes differs depending on the physical properties of the local surroundings. Due to the high complexity of a cell’s composition, it is hard to extract information on enzyme kinetics by in vivo experiments. We will perform in vitro experiments using advanced scientific techniques such as fluorescence spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to characterize the structural dynamics of enzymes in artificially crowded environments and correlate that with the kinetics measured through standard UV/Vis spectrophotometry. We will combine results of different experiments performed at both the host and parent institute to develop an improved understanding of how environmental factors such as (i) excluded-volume and (ii) non-specific interactions modulate kinetic processes.
In addition to that we will study the role of confinement on macromolecular diffusion by preparing gels using different methods and characterize them by performing small angle X-Ray scattering at the host institute […]

Faculty Supervisor:

Anand Yethiraj

Student:

Partner:

University of Orléans

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Biotechnology; Nanotechnology; Pharmaceuticals

University:

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Program: