Lars Konermann, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, will give a talk on "Adventures in Mass Spectrometry: Interrogating the Behavior of Proteins in Solution, in Electrospray Droplets, and in the Gas Phase."

ABSTRACT

Electrospray mass spectrometry can provide detailed insights into protein structures, dynamics, and interactions. Key to the feasibility of such experiments is the transfer of proteins and peptides from solution into the gas phase. This talk will start by highlighting recent experimental and computational work on the mechanisms of these electrospray events. We will then proceed to discuss hydrogen/deuterium exchange techniques that can decipher the inner workings of soluble and membrane-bound proteins. We will illustrate this approach in experiments on ATP synthase, the world’s smallest rotational motor. By combining mass spectrometry experiments with molecular dynamics simulations, we were able to uncover previously unknown aspects of this motor protein. Another focus will be our work towards a thermodynamic framework for modeling temperature-dependent hydrogen exchange data, an approach that can map protein energy landscapes. We will also discuss recent work on the peroxidase activation mechanism of cytochrome c which is closely related to the mechanism of apoptosis.