prof. dr hab. inż. Jacek Czub
Employment
- Professor at Department of Physical Chemistry
- Head of Department at Department of Physical Chemistry
Publications
Filters
total: 68
Catalog Publications
Year 2024
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Chemical investigation on the mechanism and kinetics of the atmospheric degradation reaction of Trichlorofluoroethene by OH⋅ and Its subsequent fate in the presence of O2/NOx
PublicationThe M06-2X/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory was used to examine the degradation of Trichlorofluoroethene (TCFE) initiated by OH⋅ radicals. Additionally, the coupled-cluster single-double with triple perturbative [CCSD(T)] method was employed to refine the single-point energies using the complete basis set extrapolation approach. The results indicated that OH-addition is the dominant pathway. OH⋅ adds to both the C1 and C2 carbons,...
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Computational analysis of substituent effects on proton affinity and gas-phase basicity of TEMPO derivatives and their hydrogen bonding interactions with water molecules
PublicationThe study investigates the molecular structure of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) and its derivatives in the gas phase using B3LYP and M06-2X functional methods. Intermolecular interactions are analyzed using natural bond orbital (NBO) and atoms in molecules (AIM) techniques. NO2-substituted TEMPO displays high reactivity, less stability, and softer properties. The study reveals that the stability of TEMPO derivatives...
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Enhancing colloidal stability of nanodiamond via surface modification with dendritic molecules for optical sensing in physiological environments
PublicationPre-treatment of diamond surface in low-temperature plasma for oxygenation and in acids for carboxylation was hypothesized to promote the branching density of the hyperbranched glycidol polymer. This was expected to increase the homogeneity of the branching level and suppress interactions with proteins. As a result, composite nanodiamonds with reduced hydrodynamic diameters that are maintained in physiological environments were...
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Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bond Determines Target-Binding Affinity and Specificity of the Antitubercular Drug Bedaquiline
PublicationThe role of short strong hydrogen bonds (SSHB) in ligand-target binding remains largely unexplored, thereby hin- dering a potentially important avenue in the rational drug de- sign. Here, we investigate the interaction between bedaquiline (Bq), a potent anti-tuberculosis drug, and the mycobacterial ATP synthase, to unravel the role of a specific hydrogen bond to a conserved acidic residue in the target affinity and specificity....
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Screening stability, thermochemistry, and chemical kinetics of 3-hydroxybutanoic acid as a bifunctional biodiesel additive
PublicationThe thermo-kinetic aspects of 3-hydroxybutyric acid (3-HBA) pyrolysis in the gas phase were investigated using density functional theory (DFT), specifically the M06-2X theoretical level in conjunction with the cc-pVTZ basis set. The obtained data were compared with benchmark CBS-QB3 results. The degradation mechanism was divided into 16 pathways, comprising 6 complex fissions and 10 barrierless reactions. Energy profiles were calculated...
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Triplet–Triplet Annihilation Upconverting Liposomes: Mechanistic Insights into the Role of Membranes in Two-Dimensional TTA-UC
PublicationTriplet−triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) implemented in nanoparticle assemblies is of emerging interest in biomedical applications, including in drug delivery and imaging. As it is a bimolecular process, ensuring sufficient mobility of the sensitizer and annihilator to facilitate effective collision in the nanoparticle is key. Liposomes can provide the benefits of two-dimensional confinement and condensed concentration...
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Why Are Left-Handed G-Quadruplexes Scarce?
PublicationG-quadruplexes (G4s) are nucleic acid structures crucial for the regulation of gene expression and genome maintenance. While they hold promise as nanodevice components, achieving desired G4 folds requires understanding the interplay between stability and structural properties, like helicity. Although right-handed G4 structures dominate the experimental data, the molecular basis for this preference over left-handed helicity is unclear....
Year 2023
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Analysis of Reconstituted Tripartite Complex Supports Avidity-based Recruitment of Hsp70 by Substrate Bound J-domain Protein
PublicationHsp70 are ubiquitous, versatile molecular chaperones that cyclically interact with substrate protein(s). The initial step requires synergistic interaction of a substrate and a J-domain protein (JDP) cochaperone, via its J-domain, with Hsp70 to stimulate hydrolysis of its bound ATP. This hydrolysis drives conformational changes in Hsp70 that stabilize substrate binding. However, because of the transient nature of substrate and JDP...
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Antibiotic-sterol interactions provide insight into the selectivity of natural aromatic analogues of amphotericin B and their photoisomers
PublicationAromatic heptaene macrolides (AHMs) belong to the group of polyene macrolide antifungal antibiotics. Members of this group were the first to be used in the treatment of systemic fungal infections. Amphotericin B (AmB), a non-aromatic representative of heptaene macrolides, is of significant clinical importance in the treatment of internal mycoses. It includes the all-trans heptaene chromophore, whereas the native AHMs contain two...
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How acidic amino acid residues facilitate DNA target site selection
PublicationDespite the negative charge of the DNA backbone, acidic residues (Asp/Glu) commonly participate in the base readout, with a strong preference for cytosine. In fact, in the solved DNA/protein structures, cytosine is recognized almost exclusively by Asp/Glu through a direct hydrogen bond, while at the same time, adenine, regardless of its amino group, shows no propensity for Asp/Glu. Here, we analyzed the contribution of Asp/Glu...
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Molecular mechanism and energetics of coupling between substrate binding and product release in the F 1 -ATPase catalytic cycle
PublicationF1-ATPase is a motor protein that couples the rotation of its rotary γ subunit with ATP synthesis or hydrolysis. Single-molecule experiments indicate that nucleotide binding and release events occur almost simultaneously during the synthesis cycle, allowing the energy gain due to spontaneous binding of ADP to one catalytic β subunit to be directly harnessed for driving the release of ATP from another rather than being dissipated...
Year 2022
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Determinants of Directionality and Efficiency of the ATP Synthase Fo Motor at Atomic Resolution
PublicationFo subcomplex of ATP synthase is a membrane-embedded rotary motor that converts proton motive force into mechanical energy. Despite a rapid increase in the number of high-resolution structures, the mechanism of tight coupling between proton transport and motion of the rotary c-ring remains elusive. Here, using extensive all-atom free energy simulations, we show how the motor’s directionality naturally arises from the interplay...
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Guanosine Dianions Hydrated by One to Four Water Molecules
PublicationIntermolecular interactions such as those present in molecule···water complexes may profoundly influence the physicochemical properties of molecules. Here, we carried out an experimental–computational study on doubly deprotonated guanosine monophosphate···water clusters, [dGMP – 2H]2–·nH2O (n = 1–4), using a combination of negative anion photoelectron spectroscopy (NIPES) with molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum chemical (QM) calculations....
Year 2021
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Defining a novel domain that provides an essential contribution to site-specific interaction of Rep protein with DNA
PublicationAn essential feature of replication initiation proteins is their ability to bind to DNA. In this work, we describe a new domain that contributes to a replication initiator sequence-specific interaction with DNA. Applying biochemical assays and structure prediction methods coupled with DNA–protein crosslinking, mass spectrometry, and construction and analysis of mutant proteins, we identified that the replication initiator of the...
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Light-Modulated Sunscreen Mechanism in the Retina of the Human Eye
PublicationThe functioning of the human eye in the extreme range of light intensity requires a combination of the high sensitivity of photoreceptors with their photostability. Here, we identify a regulatory mechanism based on dynamic modulation of light absorption by xanthophylls in the retina, realized by reorientation of pigment molecules induced by trans–cis photoisomerization. We explore this photochemically switchable system using chromatographic...
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Mechanism of recognition of parallel G-quadruplexes by DEAH/RHAU helicase DHX36 explored by molecular dynamics simulations
PublicationBecause of high stability and slow unfolding rates of G-quadruplexes (G4), cells have evolved specialized helicases that disrupt these non-canonical DNA and RNA structures in an ATP-dependent manner. One example is DHX36, a DEAH-box helicase, which participates in gene expression and replication by recognizing and unwinding parallel G4s. Here, we studied the molecular basis for the high affinity and specificity of DHX36 for parallel-type...
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Molecular mechanism of proton-coupled ligand translocation by the bacterial efflux pump EmrE
PublicationThe current surge in bacterial multi-drug resistance (MDR) is one of the largest challenges to public health, threatening to render ineffective many therapies we rely on for treatment of serious infections. Understanding different factors that contribute to MDR is hence crucial from the global “one health” perspective. In this contribution, we focus on the prototypical broad-selectivity proton-coupled antiporter EmrE, one of the...
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Role of cholesterol in substrate recognition by -secretase
Publication-Secretase is an enzyme known to cleave multiple substrates within their transmembrane domains, with the amyloid precursor protein of Alzheimer’s Disease among the most prominent examples. The activity of -secretase strictly depends on the membrane cholesterol content, yet the mechanistic role of cholesterol in the substrate binding and cleavage remains unclear. In this work, we used all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to examine...
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Self-assembly, stability and conductance of amphotericin B channels: bridging the gap between structure and function
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB), one of the most powerful but also toxic drugs used to treat systemic mycoses, is believed to selectively permeabilize fungal cell membranes to ions in a sterol-dependent manner. Unfortunately, the structure of the biologically active AmB channels has long eluded researchers, obstructing the design of safer alternatives. Here, we investigate the structural and thermodynamic aspects of channel formation, stability,...
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Sequence-dependent structural properties of B-DNA: what have we learned in 40 years?
PublicationThe structure of B-DNA, the physiological form of the DNA molecule, has been a central topic in biology, chemistry and physics. Far from uniform and rigid, the double helix was revealed as a flexible and structurally polymorphic molecule. Conformational changes that lead to local and global changes in the helix geometry are mediated by a complex choreography of base and backbone rearrangements affecting the ability of the B-DNA...
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