Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series

Professor Kallol Gupta, Yale University
Hosted by: Jim Prell

A Nanmeter-Scale Macromolecular Cartography of the Cellular Membrane

The local molecular environment of the native membrane profoundly influences all aspects of membrane protein biology. Despite this, the most prevalent method of studying membrane  proteins uses detergent-like molecules that remove this critical local membrane context. This impedes our ability to quantitatively decipher the local molecular context and how it regulates structure, function, and biogenesis of membrane proteins. Addressing this, combining a  embrane-active-copolymers (MAP) library with MS based quantitative proteomics, lipidomics,  and native mass spectrometry, we present a quantitative molecular platform to determine macromolecular organization of membrane proteins and lipids in the cellular membrane with  nanoscale spatial resolution. Interfacing such capabilities with a range of bioanalytical  approaches, such as singlemolecule microscopy, EM-imaging, and biochemical assays, we aim to render a quantitative molecular view of how the local membrane context regulates the function of membrane proteins in human health and disease.