1st Edition

Chirality in Biological Nanospaces Reactions in Active Sites

By Nilashis Nandi Copyright 2012
    220 Pages 19 Color & 76 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    228 Pages 19 Color & 76 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Chirality is widely studied and omnipresent in biological molecules. However, how the retention of enantiomeric forms persists in many life processes without racemization is still unclear, and the molecular understanding of the stringent chiral specificity in enzymatic reactions is sparse. An overview of the influence of chirality in driving reactions within enzymatic cavities, Chirality in Biological Nanospaces: Reactions in Active Sites covers:

    • Influences of molecular chirality on the structure of the active site and network of interactions to drive reactions with improved speed, accuracy, and efficiency
    • The conserved features of the organization of the active site structures of enzymes
    • The intricate interplay of electrostatic, hydrophobic, and van der Waals interactions
    • Interactions between the active site residues and the substrate molecules

    Despite being time-consuming and expensive, trial-and-error is often the primary method used to develop synthetic enzymes. This book describes methods that combine crystallographic studies with electronic structure-based computational analysis. These methods may lead to future elucidation of new drugs that can target biological active sites with better efficacy and can be used to design custom-made novel biocytes with improved efficiency.

    Introduction
    Chirality and chiral discrimination
    Enzymes, active site, and vital biological reactions
    Chirality and reactions in active sites
    References
    Chiral discrimination in the active site of oxidoreductase
    Cytochrome P450: discrimination in drug (warfarin) interaction
    Enantioselectivity of hydride transfer of NADPH by alcohol oxidoreductase and conversion of epoxide to β-keto acid by 2-[(R)-2-hydroxypropylthio]-ethanesulfonate dehydrogenase
    Lipooxygenase and cyclooxygenase: generation of chiral peroxide from achiral polyunsaturated fatty acid
    Nitric oxide synthase: effects of substrate and cofactors on chiral discrimination for binding the enantiomeric ligands
    Enoyl reductase: chirality dependent branching of a growing polyketide chain
    References
    Transferases and chiral discrimination
    Peptidyl transferase center within ribosome: peptide bond formation and chiral discrimination
    Chiral discrimination by telomerase
    Chiral discrimination by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase
    Chiral discrimination and nuclear DNA polymerases
    References
    Influence of chirality on the hydrolysis reactions within the active site of hydrolases
    Chiral discrimination by epoxide hydrolases
    Chiral discrimination by lipases
    References
    Influence of chirality on the reactions in the active site of lyases
    Hydroxynitrile lyases: interaction with chiral substrates
    Acceptance of both epimers of uronic acid by chondroitin lyase ABC
    References
    Chiral discrimination in the active site of ligases
    Chiral discrimination by germacrene D synthases
    Chiral discrimination by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
    References
    Summary and future
    References
    Index

    Biography

    Nilashis Nandi was born in Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India (1965). He received his B.Sc. (Hons.) (1983) and M.Sc. (1985) degrees from North Bengal University and Ph.D. (1992) from Visva Bharati University. He became a postdoctoral fellow at the Indian Institute of Science, India (1993–1997), a J.S.P.S. postdoctoral fellow at Nagoya University, Japan (1997–1999), and an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany (1999–2000). Dr. Nandi was a faculty member in the chemistry group of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India from 2001–2007 and became a professor in the Department of Chemistry, University of Kalyani in 2008 where he has worked ever since. His research interest is focused on theoretical and computational studies in biophysical chemistry.