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Dynamics of Biopolymers: Role of Hydration and Electrostatic Interactions
Author(s) -
Roh Joon Ho
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201500279
Subject(s) - chemical physics , chemistry , flexibility (engineering) , folding (dsp implementation) , molecular dynamics , dynamics (music) , electrostatics , lysozyme , neutron spectroscopy , computational chemistry , neutron scattering , nanotechnology , biological system , scattering , materials science , physics , mathematics , electrical engineering , optics , acoustics , engineering , biology , biochemistry , statistics
This contribution highlights the recently developed microscopic picture of the effects of hydration and electrostatic interactions on subnanosecond dynamics of biopolymers protein and ribonucleic acid (RNA), studied by quasielastic neutron scattering spectroscopy. In contrast to the traditional concept of water‐slaved dynamics, more detailed analysis of the dynamics of different chemical structures (lysozyme vs transfer RNA; electrostatically unscreened vs screened) demonstrates that chemical and physical responses of biopolymers to hydration and charge screening determine the dynamic interactions. How the relationship of the dynamical flexibility and structural stability varies depending on water‐driven or charge screening‐driven folding into biologically active structures has also been discussed. However, the biological relevance of the fast conformational dynamics still remains elusive. Exploring the dynamic heterogeneity of biopolymers is proposed as a potential approach to the identification of biologically important dynamics.