Engineering topics
Stanley, Christopher B
Publications and source records attributed to Stanley, Christopher B.
Investigating the Structural Impact of the Glutamine Repeat in Huntingtin Assembly
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Small Molecule Binding, Docking, and Characterization of the Interaction between Pth1 and Peptidyl-tRNA
Bacterial Pth1 is essential for viability. Pth1 cleaves the ester bond between the peptide and nucleotide of peptidyl-tRNA generated from aborted translation, expression of mini-genes, and short ORFs. We have determined the shape of the Pth1:peptidyl-tRNA complex using small angle neutron scattering. Binding of piperonylpiperazine, a small molecule constituent of a combinatorial synthetic library common to most compounds with inhibitory activity, was mapped to Pth1 via NMR spectroscopy. We also report computational docking results, modeling piperonylpiperazine binding based on chemical shift perturbation mapping. Overall these studies promote Pth1 as a novel antibiotic target, contributing to understanding how Pth1 interacts with its substrate, advancing the current model for cleavage, and demonstrating feasibility of small molecule inhibition.
Structural Formation of Huntingtin Exon 1 Aggregates Probed by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
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Evidence for water structuring forces between surfaces
Structured water on apposing surfaces can generate significant energies due to reorganization and displacement as the surfaces encounter each other. Force measurements on a multitude of biological structures using the osmotic stress technique have elucidated commonalities that point toward an underlying hydration force. In this review, the forces of two contrasting systems are considered in detail: highly charged DNA and nonpolar, uncharged hydroxypropyl cellulose. Conditions for both net repulsion and attraction, along with the measured exclusion of chemically different solutes from these macromolecular surfaces, are explored and demonstrate features consistent with a hydration force origin. Specifically, the observed interaction forces can be reduced to the effects of perturbing structured surface water.