The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $750,000 Project Grant under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) to study the effects of macromolecular crowding on protein stability and interactions. The 3-year project will develop and test a new model for explaining how crowded cellular environments impact the free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of protein and protein complex stability. Key activities include using 19F NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry to analyze protein stability and dimerization under crowded conditions with synthetic polymers and designer proteins. The research aims to provide broadly applicable knowledge about protein behavior in complex, crowded cellular environments, with potential applications for producing and stabilizing protein-based reagents. The project will also facilitate training of undergraduate and graduate students in cutting-edge biophysics research as part of NSF's mission to advance the U.S. bioeconomy.
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