Observation of small conformational changes in the sperm‐whale myoglobin by the far‐infrared spectra

• Published in: Biopolymers
• Main Authors: Chirgadze, Yu. N., Ovsepyan, A. M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1973
• Subjects: Sperm whale
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bip.1973.360120315; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fbip.1973.360120315; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/bip.1973.360120315

Abstract Small conformational changes in a molecule of sperm‐whale myoglobin in its native solid state for different pH values at room temperature as well as during heat denaturation in alkali medium at different stages of unfolding of the globule were observed by using far‐infrared spectroscopy in the region from 30 to 600 cm −1 . The changes appeared in the absorption bands near 420 and 470 cm −1 ascribed to the side‐chain vibrations of helical segments of the myoglobin molecule. For the first time the high structural sensitivity of the far‐infrared region of the skeletal vibrations has been confirmed experimentally and the applicability of this technique to globular proteins demonstrated.