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Laboratory ssNMR
since: 1987new equipment 2003
actual system:
Bruker AVANCE 500 US/WB
head of the laboratory:
Ing. Jiří Brus, PhD
contact: brus@imc.cas.cz
Research topic
Determination of complete three-dimensional structure of medium size organic molecules in solid microcrystalline state at natural isotopic abundance is the main task for pharmaceutical research. Majority of the active substances do not usually form single crystals suitable for x-ray diffraction studies.
(Pharmaceutical application, solid form identification - polymorphs, solvates, hydrates, isomorphic crystal forms, static vs. dynamic disorder, hydrogen bonding)
This leads also to resolution of nonequivalent molecules in the asymmetric unit of the crystal. This fact together with newly developed techniques for unambiguous signal assignment makes it possible to study very fine changes in the conformational structure of molecules during drug processing. Relatively low detection limit ca 2-5 wt % indicates possibility of analysis complex mixtures or dosage products. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is also used to analyze drugs in tablets to identify drug-excipient interactions (eg. formation or breaking of hydrogen bonds, restriction of segmental mobility, etc).
(Molecular dynamics and conformation in polypetides. Effect of hydration on segmental dynamics and elastic properties)
In recent past we dealt with determination of structure, morphology and dynamics of several synthetic polymer systems (blends of poly(ethylene oxide) and polycarbonate, hybrid siloxane networks, siloxanes based on hyperbranched polymers) as well as natural substances like coals or humic acids. Gradually we focused our attention on the determination of relationships between hydration degree and conformation and conformational dynamics of peptides and polypeptides which mimics extracellular elastine-like matrix proteins. We studied the overall changes of morphology of copolymer systems containing peptide block and block of poly(ethylene oxide), which can affect mechanical and bioactive properties of these materials used in the field of tissue engineering and temporary scaffold for the cell transplantation.
In order to investigate the interaction of short hydrophobic and hydrophilic polypeptides systematically, a series of model sequences were studied. The main technique used for the conformational study was solid-state NMR spectroscopy in combination with ab-initio, molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics calculations of molecular properties and geometry.