Nitrogen Fixation and Hydrogen Evolution by Sterically Encumbered Mo-Nitrogenase.

The substrate-reducing proteins of all nitrogenases (MoFe, VFe, and FeFe) are organized as αß(γ) multimers with two functional halves. While their dimeric organization could afford improved structural stability of nitrogenases , previous research has proposed both negative and positive cooperativity contributions with respect to enzymatic activity. Here, a 1.

From Phenotypic Hit to Chemical Probe: Chemical Biology Approaches to Elucidate Small Molecule Action in Complex Biological Systems.

Biologically active small molecules have a central role in drug development, and as chemical probes and tool compounds to perturb and elucidate biological processes. Small molecules can be rationally designed for a given target, or a library of molecules can be screened against a target or phenotype of interest. Especially in the case of phenotypic screening approaches, a major challenge is to translate the compound-induced phenotype into a well-defined cellular target and mode of action of the hit compound.