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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) is a charged cosolvent molecule present in the intracellular environment of animals. It has been used as a marker for predicting cardiovascular disease, and is a potent stabilizer of biomolecules, including ribonucleic acids (RNA). Using an all-atom TMAO force field developed for use in molecular dynamics, we characterize the equilibrium distributions of TMAO around a tetraloop-forming RNA in multiple configurations. Our results indicate that configuration plays a significant role in the distributions of TMAO, and further suggests a potential coupling between different cosolutes in the solution surrounding RNA. These results add to our growing knowledge about RNA-solution dynamics and lend new insight into the effect of charged cosolvents around charged biomolecules. This talk is a part of the student seminar series. Multiple ten minute talks starting at 2:00pm
Host: Jacob Miner