Fluorescence anisotropy of acridinedione dyes in glycerol: Prolate model of ellipsoid

Experimental and Theoretical Rotational Diffusion Studies of 7DM4M1M1,8, N-2(1H)-one and 7A4T2H1B-2-one in Series of Alcohol Solvents: Stoke's-Einstein-Debye and Alavi-Waldeck Models

Rotational diffusion studies of two solutes 7-(dimethylamino)-4-methoxy-1-methyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-one (7DM4M1M1,8, N-2(1H)-one) and 7-amino-4-(trifluoromethyl)-2H-1-benzopyran-2-one (7A4T2H1B-2-one) having equal volumes but different chemical natures are studied in series of alcohol solvents at 303 K using steady-state methods. HOMO-LUMO, Electron density, Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), etc., are obtained from computational calculations using Gaussian 09 software. Rotational reorientation times of 7DM4M1M1,8, N-2(1H)-one solute molecule is found to be less than 7A4T2H1B-2-one solute molecule indicates it rotates slowly in chosen solvents. Stoke's-Einstein-Debye (SED) model with stick boundary conditions for the 7A4T2H1B-2-one solute molecule is modeled to describe mechanical friction. Polar solutes along with mechanical friction also experience dielectric friction. Both these frictions being non-separable, the Alavi-Waldeck (AW) model is studied for dielectric friction contribution to the total friction solute experiences in solvents. AW model effectively explains the observed dielectric friction in alcohol solvents.

A major shell protein of 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartment conserves the activity of its signature enzyme at higher temperatures

A classic example of an all-protein natural nano-bioreactor, the bacterial microcompartment is a special kind of prokaryotic organelle that confine enzymes within a small volume enveloped by an outer protein shell. These protein compartments metabolize specific organic molecules, allowing bacteria to survive in restricted nutrient environments. In this work, 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartment (PduMCP)  is used as a model to study the effect of molecular confinement on the stability and catalytic activity of native enzymes in microcompartment. A combination of enzyme assays, spectroscopic techniques, binding assays, and computational analysis are used to evaluate the impact of the major shell protein PduBB' on the stability and activity of PduMCP's signature enzyme, diol dehydratase PduCDE. While free PduCDE shows ~45% reduction in its optimum activity (activity at 37 o C) when exposed to a temperature of 45°C, it retains similar activity up to 50°C when encapsulated within PduMCP. PduBB', a major component of the outer shell of PduMCP, preserves the catalytic efficiency of PduCDE under thermal stress and prevents temperature-induced unfolding and aggregation of PduCDE in vitro . We observe that while both PduB and PduB' interact with the enzyme with micromolar affinity, only the PduBB' combination influences its activity and stability, highlighting the importance of the unique PduBB' combination in the functioning of PduMCP.