Miroslav Štěpánek

Dr. Miroslav Štěpánek

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

30Years (1997-Present)

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

Representative Publications

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6 June 2001 in Langmuir
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
MŠMiroslav Štěpánek
Miroslav Štěpánek
KPKlára Podhájecká
Klára Podhájecká
Eva TesarovaEva Tesarova
Eva Tesarova
KPKarel Procházka
Karel Procházka
ZTZdeněk Tuzar
Zdeněk Tuzar
WBWyn Brown
Wyn Brown

22 July 2000 in Langmuir
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
CTCostantinos Tsitsilianis
Costantinos Tsitsilianis
DVDimitris Voulgaris
Dimitris Voulgaris
MŠMiroslav Štěpánek
Miroslav Štěpánek
KPKlára Podhájecká
Klára Podhájecká
KPKarel Procházka
Karel Procházka
WBWyn Brown
Wyn Brown

9 January 2021 in Polymers
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
RLRaju Lunkad
Raju Lunkad
AMAnastasiia Murmiliuk
Anastasiia Murmiliuk
ZTZdeněk Tošner
Zdeněk Tošner
MŠMiroslav Štěpánek
Miroslav Štěpánek
PKPeter Košovan
Peter Košovan
Peptides containing amino acids with ionisable side chains represent a typical example of weak ampholytes, that is, molecules with multiple titratable acid and base groups, which generally exhibit charge regulating properties upon changes in pH. Charged groups on an ampholyte interact electrostatically with each other, and their interaction is coupled to conformation of the (macro)molecule, resulting in a complex feedback loop. Their charge-regulating properties are primarily determined by the pKA of individual ionisable side-chains, modulated by electrostatic interactions between the charged groups. The latter is determined by the amino acid sequence in the peptide chain. In our previous work we introduced a simple coarse-grained model of a flexible peptide. We validated it against experiments, demonstrating its ability to quantitatively predict charge on various peptides in a broad range of pH. In the current work, we investigated two types of peptide sequences: diblock and alternating, each of them consisting of an equal number of amino acids with acid and base side-chains. We showed that changing the sequence while keeping the same overall composition has a profound effect on the conformation, whereas it practically does not affect total charge on the peptide. Nevertheless, the sequence significantly affects the charge state of individual groups, showing that the zero net effect on the total charge is a consequence of unexpected cancellation of effects. Furthermore, we investigated how the difference between the pKA of acid and base side chains affects the charge and conformation of the peptide, showing that it is possible to tune the charge-regulating properties by following simple guiding principles based on the pKA and on the amino acid sequence. Our current results provide a theoretical basis for understanding of the complex coupling between the ionisation and conformation in flexible polyampholytes, including synthetic polymers, biomimetic materials and biological molecules, such as intrinsically disordered proteins, whose function can be regulated by changes in the pH.

11 August 2009 in Macromolecules
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
MUMariusz Uchman
Mariusz Uchman
MŠMiroslav Štěpánek
Miroslav Štěpánek
KPKarel Procházka
Karel Procházka
GMGrigoris Mountrichas
Grigoris Mountrichas
Stergios PispasStergios Pispas
Stergios Pispas
AWAndreas Walther
Andreas Walther

2 February 2007 in Langmuir
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
RŠRadek Šachl
Radek Šachl
MUMariusz Uchman
Mariusz Uchman
PMPavel Matějíček
Pavel Matějíček
KPKarel Procházka
Karel Procházka
MŠMiroslav Štěpánek
Miroslav Štěpánek
MŠMilena Špírková
Milena Špírková