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Crosslinked synthetic polypeptides. II. Evaluation of the internal structure of intramolecularly crosslinked polymers by polarization of fluorescence measurements
Author(s) -
Gill Thomas J.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.360030106
Subject(s) - chemistry , intramolecular force , fluorescence anisotropy , rigidity (electromagnetism) , rotational diffusion , molecule , fluorescence , polymer , chemical physics , stereochemistry , organic chemistry , optics , biochemistry , physics , membrane , structural engineering , engineering
Abstract The introduction of intramolecular amide bonds into synthetic polypeptides produces molecules with organized spatial structure which are good models for the tertiary structure of proteins. Polarization of fluorescence measurements were used to study the internal structure and the overall rigidity of the intramolecularly crosslinked polypeptides. The graph of [(1/ p ) + (1/3)] against T /η changes from a straight line to a continuous curve: the temperature at which this change occurs and the slope of the straight line segment measure the stability of the internal structure of the molecule. The introduction of one to six crosslinks produces an organized internal structure that becomes more stable as the number of crosslinks increases. In contrast to the fluorescence measurements, the intrinsic viscosities, reflecting the overall hydrodynamic domain of the molecules, change (decrease) to the same extent whether one, four, or six intramolecular crosslinks are present. The overall rigidity of the polymers can be assessed by the rotational relaxation time ρ h and the polarization at 10°C. p 10 . Both of these criteria show that the presence of six crosslinks significantly increases the rigidity, but one or four does not. The various hydrodynamic measurements may be fitted into a hierarchy of discrimination: intrinsic viscosity, sedimentation, and diffusion for size and shape; rotational relaxation time and polarization of fluorescence at a given temperature for overall molecular rigidity; and transition temperature and rate at which it is attained for internal molecular detail.