Dipolar pathways in multi-spin and multi-dimensional dipolar EPR spectroscopy.

Dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments, such as double electron-electron resonance (DEER), measure distributions of nanometer-scale distances between unpaired electrons, which provide valuable information for structural characterization of proteins and other macromolecular systems. We present an extension to our previously published general model based on dipolar pathways valid for multi-dimensional dipolar EPR experiments with more than two spin-1/2 labels. We examine the 4-pulse DEER and TRIER experiments in terms of dipolar pathways and show experimental results confirming the theoretical predictions.

Modeling of the N-terminal Section and the Lumenal Loop of Trimeric Light Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) by Using EPR.

The major light harvesting complex II (LHCII) of green plants plays a key role in the absorption of sunlight, the regulation of photosynthesis, and in preventing photodamage by excess light. The latter two functions are thought to involve the lumenal loop and the N-terminal domain. Their structure and mobility in an aqueous environment are only partially known.

Suppression of ghost distances in multiple-spin double electron-electron resonance.

Distance measurements by pulse electron paramagnetic resonance techniques are increasingly applied to multiple-spin systems. In the double electron-electron resonance experiment, more than two dipolar coupled spins manifest in an increased total modulation depth and in sum and difference dipolar frequency contributions that give rise to additional peaks appearing in the distance distribution, which do not correspond to the real interspin distances of the system and are hence referred to as ghost contributions. These ghost contributions may be so prominent that they might be mistaken for real distance peaks or that real distance peaks shift their position or disappear.