Biophysical Analysis of Membrane Proteins: Investigating Structure and Function

Meeting the need for a book on developing and using new methods to investigate membrane proteins, this is the first of its kind to present the full range of novel techniques in one resource. Top researchers from around the world focus on the physical principles exploited in the different techniques, and provide examples of how these can bring about important new insights.
Following an introduction, further sections discuss structural approaches, molecular interaction and large assemblies, dynamics and spectroscopies, finishing off with an exploration of structure-function relationships in whole cells.

Meeting the need for a book on developing and using new methods to investigate membrane proteins, this is a cutting-edge resource for the major biophysical methods that are - or soon will be- the major techniques used in the field. Top researchers from around the world focus on the physical principles exploited in the different techniques, and provide examples of how these can bring about important new insights. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific approach, describing the method involved, highlighting the experimental procedure and/or the basic principles, offering an up-to-date understanding of what is measured, what can be deduced from the measurements, as well as the limitations of each procedure.

Following an introduction, further sections discuss structural approaches, molecular interaction and large assemblies, dynamics and spectroscopes, finishing off with an exploration of structure-function relationships in whole cells.

Eva Pebay-Peyroula is a professor in the Physics Department at the University of Grenoble. Having gained her PhD in molecular physics in 1986, Prof. Pebay-Peyroula began working the Laue-Langevin Institut, where her interests shifted from physics to biology. Subsequently, after studying the structural properties of lipidic membranes, mainly by neutron diffraction, she moved into the field of protein crystallography, which in turn aroused an interest in membrane proteins. During the past years, Prof. Pebay-Peyroula's main area of study has included light-driven mechanisms achieved by bacterial rhodopsins, membrane proteins from archaeal bacteria and, more recently, the ADP/ATP carrier, a mitochondrial membrane protein. Currently, Prof. Pebay-Peyroula heads the Institut de Biologie Structurale in Grenoble and, since 2005, has belonged to the French Academy of Science.