Toward Extreme Biophysics: Deciphering the Infrared Response of Biomolecular Solutions at High Pressures. (28th June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Imoto, Sho; Kibies, Patrick; Rosin, Christopher; Winter, Roland; Kast, Stefan M.; Marx, Dominik
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie. Volume 128:Number 33(2016)
• Page Start: 9686
• Page End: 9690
• Publication Date: 2016-06-28
• Subjects: Biophysik -- Computerchemie -- Hochdruckchemie -- Lösungsmittel -- Schwingungsspektroskopie; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.201602757
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0044-8249

Abstract

Abstract: Biophysics under extreme conditions is the fundamental platform for scrutinizing life in unusual habitats, such as those in the deep sea or continental subsurfaces, but also for putative extraterrestrial organisms. Therefore, an important thermodynamic variable to explore is pressure. It is shown that the combination of infrared spectroscopy with simulation is an exquisite approach for unraveling the intricate pressure response of the solvation pattern of TMAO in water, which is expected to be transferable to biomolecules in their native solvent. Pressure‐enhanced hydrogen bonding was found for TMAO in water. TMAO is a molecule known to stabilize proteins against pressure‐induced denaturation in deep‐sea organisms.