Graham Heaven

Mr. Graham Heaven


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

13Years (2014-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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23 October 2014 in Molecules
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
AFAlistair Fielding
Alistair Fielding
MCMaria Grazia Concilio
Maria Grazia Concilio
GHGraham Heaven
Graham Heaven
MHMichael A. Hollas
Michael A. Hollas
Spin labelling is a chemical technique that enables the integration of a molecule containing an unpaired electron into another framework for study. Given the need to understand the structure, dynamics, and conformational changes of biomacromolecules, spin labelling provides a relatively non-intrusive technique and has certain advantages over X-ray crystallography; which requires high quality crystals. The technique relies on the design of binding probes that target a functional group, for example, the thiol group of a cysteine residue within a protein. The unpaired electron is typically supplied through a nitroxide radical and sterically shielded to preserve stability. Pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques allow small magnetic couplings to be measured (e.g., <50 MHz) providing information on single label probes or the dipolar coupling between multiple labels. In particular, distances between spin labels pairs can be derived which has led to many protein/enzymes and nucleotides being studied. Here, we summarise recent examples of spin labels used for pulse EPR that serve to illustrate the contribution of chemistry to advancing discoveries in this field.