Nov 18, 2010 09:12 GMT  ·  By
Studying DNA, RNA, enzymes and proteins will become easier now that the wavelengths of oxygen can be analyzed
   Studying DNA, RNA, enzymes and proteins will become easier now that the wavelengths of oxygen can be analyzed

A group of scientists was recently able to create a new method of analyzing the chemical oxygen inside larger molecular systems. The findings could have important applications, especially in physics and chemistry, the investigators say.

Researchers from the Queen's University, in Ontario, Canada, conducted the investigation, which may in the near future aid experts in the study of DNA, RNA, proteins, enzymes and other such molecules.

These structures are tremendously complex, and they feature really elaborate inner and outer structures. For example, determining how proteins and enzymes interact with themselves and each other is a critical step for developing new drugs and therapies.

Studying the structures of DNA and RNA could yield a lot more insight into how the human genome functions, and may help researchers understand genetic diseases better than ever before.

The biological molecules that make up the targets for the new tool are essential for life as we know it. They are present in all living things, from the smallest bacteria and microbes to humans, scientists say.

All of the molecules are primarily made up of four chemicals, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. All elements except oxygen were extensively analyzed until now, via the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technologies.

This happened because the wavelengths of oxygen were very difficult to detect using this approach. “Oxygen signals were so weak, so to speak, that no one could make use of them,” explains Gang Wu.

He is a QU professor of chemistry, and the leader of the new research effort. “Now there is a way of detecting them even in complex biomolecular systems,” he explains, quoted by Science Blog.

Using equipment at the National Ultrahigh-Field NMR Facility for Solids, in Ottawa, the group was able to produce magnetic fields that were strong enough to allow for the detection of the wavelengths of oxygen.

The facility contains one of the strongest NMR spectrometers ever built, and the researchers used the machine to modify the oxygen in the molecules via a technique called isotope enrichment.

In a paper detailing the findings, which appears in the latest issue of the esteemed scientific journal Angewandte Chemie, the group explains that the wavelengths of the “amplified oxygen” can now be studied in detail.

Scientists Victor Terskikh, from the NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences and Eric Ye, from the University of Ottawa, were also involved in the investigation. The lead author of the paper was Queen’s post-doctoral fellow Jianfeng Zhu.