- Ph.D. research: Identification and characterization of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) remain one of the key challenges in the area of signal transduction and metal homeostasis. Depending upon their equilibrium dissociation constants, PPIs are divided into two subcategories: strong and weak. Existing biochemical and optical methods are well advanced for studying strong PPIs; whereas proper identification of weak PPIs remains a challenge. Development of modulation transfer (MT)-FRET microscopy will enable us to visualize weak PPIs in high background environment.
- Master’s research: We designed a system, in which two tryptophan (Trp) units are appended on a bicyclic scaffold namely bispidine. Bispidine, endowed with two nitrogen atoms placed at ~ 2.8 Å, is ideal to append fluorescent units for studying the intramolecular through- space association between them. Our investigation revealed that the proximal placement of Trp can lead to the emergence of a new and unanticipated fluorescent entity namely Trp-Trp dimer. Proton induced modulation of fluorescence is another additional attribute of this work.
Publications:
- “Unprecedented Intramolecular Association-Induced Fluorescence in Tryptophan-Conjugated Peptidomimetics” : The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2019 123 (14), 3112-3117 (DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b01676)
- “Sequential Two-Photon Delayed Fluorescence Anisotropy for Macromolecular Size Determination” : The Journal of Physical Chemistry B Article ASAP (DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c01236)