Pulse EPR measurements of intramolecular distances in a TOPP-labeled transmembrane peptide in lipids.

We present the performance of nanometer-range pulse electron paramagnetic resonance distance measurements (pulsed electron-electron double resonance/double electron-electron resonance, PELDOR/DEER) on a transmembrane WALP24 peptide labeled with the semirigid unnatural amino acid 4-(3,3,5,5-tetra-methyl-2,6-dioxo-4-oxylpiperazin-1-yl)-l-phenylglycine (TOPP). Distances reported by the TOPP label are compared to the ones reported by the more standard MTSSL spin label, commonly employed in protein studies. Using high-power pulse electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at Q-band frequencies (34 GHz), we show that in contrast to MTSSL, our label reports one-peak, sharp (Δr ≤ 0.4 nm) intramolecular distances. Orientational selectivity is not observed. When spin-labeled WALP24 was inserted in two representative lipid bilayers with different bilayer thickness, i.e., DMPC and POPC, the intramolecular distance reported by TOPP did not change with the bilayer environment. In contrast, the distance measured with MTSSL was strongly affected by the hydrophobic thickness of the lipid. The results demonstrate that the TOPP label is well suited to study the intrinsic structure of peptides immersed in lipids

Comparison of Overhauser DNP at 0.34 and 3.4 T with Frémy’s salt.

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is investigated in the liquid state using a model system of Frémy’s salt dissolved in water. Nuclear magnetic resonance signal enhancements at 0.34 and 3.4 T of the bulk water protons are recorded as a function of the irradiation time and the polarizer concentration. The build-up rates are consistent with the T1n of the observed water protons at room temperature (for 9 GHz/0.34 T) and for about 50 ± 10 °C at 94 GHz/3.4 T. At 94 GHz/3.4 T, we observe in our setup a maximal enhancement of −50 at 25 mM polarizer concentration. The use of Frémy’s salt allows the determination of the saturation factors at 94 GHz by pulsed ELDOR experiments. The results are well consistent with the Overhauser DNP mechanism and indicate that higher enhancements at this intermediate frequency require higher sample temperatures

Cross-polarization electron-nuclear double resonance spectroscopy.

Magnetic nuclei in the proximity of a paramagnetic center can be polarized through electron-nuclear cross-polarization and detected in electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy. This principle is demonstrated in a single-crystal model sample as well as on a protein, the β2 subunit of E.coli ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), which contains an essential tyrosyl radical. ENDOR is a fundamental technique to detect magnetic nuclei coupled to paramagnetic centers. It is widely employed in biological and materials sciences. Despite its utility, its sensitivity in real samples is about one to two orders of magnitude lower than conventional electron paramagnetic resonance, thus restricting its application potential. Herein, we report the performance of a recently introduced concept to polarize nuclear spins and detect their ENDOR spectrum, which is based on electron-nuclear cross polarization (eNCP). A single-crystal study permits us to disentangle eNCP conditions and CP-ENDOR intensities, providing the experimental foundation in agreement with the theoretical prediction. The CP-ENDOR performance on a real protein sample is best demonstrated with the spectra of the essential tyrosyl radical in the β2 subunit of E.coli RNR

Relaxation in statistical many-agent economy models

We review some statistical many-agent models of economic and social systems inspired by microscopic molecular models and discuss their stochastic interpretation. We apply these models to wealth exchange in economics and study how the relaxation process depends on the parameters of the system, in particular on the saving propensities that define and diversify the agent profiles.Comment: Revised final version. 6 pages, 5 figure

Detection of water molecules on the radical transfer pathway of ribonucleotide reductase by 17O electron–nuclear double resonance spectroscopy

The role of water in biological proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is emerging as a key for understanding mechanistic details at atomic resolution. Here we demonstrate 17O high-frequency electron–nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) in conjunction with H217O-labeled protein buffer to establish the presence of ordered water molecules at three radical intermediates in an active enzyme complex, the α2β2E. coli ribonucleotide reductase. Our data give unambiguous evidence that all three, individually trapped, intermediates are hyperfine coupled to one water molecule with Tyr-O···17O distances in the range 2.8–3.1 Å. The availability of this structural information will allow for quantitative models of PCET in this prototype enzyme. The results also provide a spectroscopic signature for water H-bonded to a tyrosyl radical

Studies of transmembrane peptides by pulse dipolar spectroscopy with semi-rigid TOPP spin labels

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)-based pulsed dipolar spectroscopy measures the dipolar interaction between paramagnetic centers that are separated by distances in the range of about 1.5–10 nm. Its application to transmembrane (TM) peptides in combination with modern spin labelling techniques provides a valuable tool to study peptide-to-lipid interactions at a molecular level, which permits access to key parameters characterizing the structural adaptation of model peptides incorporated in natural membranes. In this mini-review, we summarize our approach for distance and orientation measurements in lipid environment using novel semi-rigid TOPP [4-(3,3,5,5-tetramethyl-2,6-dioxo-4-oxylpiperazin-1-yl)-L-phenylglycine] labels specifically designed for incorporation in TM peptides. TOPP labels can report single peak distance distributions with sub-angstrom resolution, thus offering new capabilities for a variety of TM peptide investigations, such as monitoring of various helix conformations or measuring of tilt angles in membranes