Final Report Summary - MMPF (Molecular Movies of Protein Folding)
Protein folding, the process in which a protein forms a well-defined three-dimensional structure from its one-dimensional chain of amino acids, is one of the key problems of molecular biology. Protein folding is not only interesting from a fundamental point of view, but also from a practical point of view, since many well-known diseases (Alzheimer’s, BSE, and Parkinson’s) are believed to be caused by folding "errors". The mechanisms by which proteins manage to fold into the correct three-dimensional structure in a comparatively short time (often milliseconds or less) is still largely unknown. In this research project, advanced infrared-spectroscopic methods were developed and used to unravel protein folding at the molecular level.