Neutron Scattering is a powerful technique for obtaining the structural and dynamic information of polymers, functional materials, and biomolecular complexes in solution. Maximizing the information content in these systems relies on the strategic use of deuteration. The Center for Structural Molecular Biology in collaboration with the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has developed a comprehensive suite of capabilities for biological and chemical deuteration. We present recent advancements in the deuteration of proteins, lipids, and RNA to support neutron scattering studies of complex biological systems. This includes segmental protein labelling for probing protein-protein interaction, and the development of deuterated nanodisc systems for studying membrane proteins in native-like environments. We also report the production of deuterated phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) via extraction and fractionation from native Escherichia coli , and phosphatidylcholine (PC) from a genetically engineered E. coli strain, with regiospecific deuterium incorporation tunable by growth conditions. These tailored lipid systems are compatible with a variety of model membrane platforms, including micelles, bicelles, liposomes, SMALPs, and MSP-based nanodiscs, for both neutron scattering and NMR applications. In addition, RNA deuteration and chemical deuteration (e.g., lignin and ionizable lipids) have been developed. All these developments significantly expand the structural biologist’s toolkit, enabling more precise investigation of dynamic biomolecular assemblies and their interactions in solution.
Zhang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.