VISDYNAMICS

Visualizing Molecular Structural Dynamics

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Here, I seek funding to study the conformational dynamics of lipid bilayer fusion and electronic excitations in organic electronics, i.e. organic photovoltaic materials. I plan to use time-resolved wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) for these experiments, which I have developed funded by an Intra-European fellowship.

Direct observation of structural dynamics will have enormous impact in many natural sciences. Here I will demonstrate this using two examples.

(1) Fusion of cell membranes is central to life. It is important for endocytosis, viral infection, and its malfunction causes widespread diseases, such as Alzheimer or obesity. Despite its importance, the molecular mechanism of cell membrane fusion remains unproven. Time-resolved WAXS, as developed by myself, opens a unique experimental window to visualize the structural dynamics of the process. If successful, these experiments will significantly contribute to the understanding of the lipid bilayer fusion mechanism.

(2) Semiconducting polymers are currently actively investigated due to their potential use in electronic devices,. Using time-resolved WAXS, I propose to study the structural relaxation that key-polymers undergo when electronically excited. The study will shine new light onto the long-standing photophysical question about the nature and degree of structural relaxation of a molecular backbone when exposed to light. I also seek to visualize the structural relaxations in organic photovoltaic materials, which are thought to be performance limiting.

Combining my research experience prior and during the Intra-European fellowship, all experiments target fundamentally important scientific questions and each project will open a new experimental window to study molecular structural dynamics'

Introduzione (Teaser)

European research is applying wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) to analyse what happens in a variety of molecular systems. Exciting applications of the dynamics of molecular structures could range from Alzheimer's disease to photovoltaic systems.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The EU-funded 'Visualizing molecular structural dynamics' (VISDYNAMICS) project has further developed the time-resolved WAXS technique to visualise the structural dynamics of molecular systems. The research included a revised computational analysis method to analyse the data from the diffraction technique.

Researchers successfully developed and broadened the application of the time-resolved WAXS method. A paper on the results features in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Crystallography.

Work focused on fusion of lipid bilayers. Forming the structural foundation of cell membranes, including transport systems and the outer cell membrane itself, lipid bilayers are an important target of biomedical research. The bilayer fusion process occurs in many important processes in the cell, including transport of waste and entry of pathogens into the confines of the cell.

The team identified a large structural rearrangement in a sensory photoreceptor protein. Involved in sensing light levels in plants, bacteria and fungi, the protein undergoes changes and participates in the cellular signalling network.

VISDYNAMICS has refined and provided a system of analysis for an imaging technique to determine the crystalline structure of polymers. As polymers are literally the backbone of many biological and organically based industrial materials, the refined WAXS technique has a wide range of potential applications.