Dr. Valerie Gabelica, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, INSERM, ARNA and  Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie (IECB), France

Advancing Mass Spectrometry for Biophysics

To understand the folding and interactions of biomolecules, our team develops new mass spectrometry approaches to separate, quantify, and structurally characterize the different ensembles of structures simultaneously present in solution. I will survey recent developments of mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry for nucleic acids biophysics and protein therapeutics. With mass spectrometry, we characterize the stoichiometries of all complexes simultaneously present, either at equilibrium, as a function of time, or as a function of temperature.

Another dimension of information is provided by ion mobility spectrometry, which measures the ion friction in a gas. The collision cross sections inform on the shape of each population, and we use molecular modelling to deduce the shapes of each structure. We also made the proof of concept of measuring the electronic circular dichroism of ions. Currently, we focus on the effects of electropsray ionization mechanisms and of the charge state on the gas-phase ion conformations. These methodological advances open new avenues in the fields of epitranscriptomics, drug discovery and biotherapeutics development.