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Proteins in the gas phase
Author(s) -
Meyer Tim,
Gabelica Valérie,
Grubmüller Helmut,
Orozco Modesto
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: computational molecular science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.126
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1759-0884
pISSN - 1759-0876
DOI - 10.1002/wcms.1130
Subject(s) - gas phase , aqueous solution , phase (matter) , vaporization , chemical physics , chemistry , aqueous two phase system , statistical mechanics , thermodynamics , physics , organic chemistry
Proteins are complex macromolecules that evolved over billions of years to be active in aqueous solution. Water is a key element that stabilizes their structure, and most structural studies on proteins have thus been carried out in aqueous environment. However, recent experimental approaches have opened the possibility to gain structural information on proteins from gas‐phase measurements. The obtained results revealed significant structural memory in proteins when transferred from water to the gas phase. However, after several years of experimental and theoretical research, the nature of the structural changes induced by vaporization, the exact characteristics of proteins in the gas phase, and the physicochemical forces stabilizing dehydrated proteins are still unclear. We will review here these issues using both experimental and theoretical sources of information. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article is categorized under: Molecular and Statistical Mechanics > Molecular Interactions