Research subject Advanced spectroscopy

Our group works at the intersection between basic and applied biophysics using experimental and computational methods.

The Gräslund group works on two groups of biomolecules - ribonucleotide reductase and bioactive peptides - with a special focus on their membrane interactions. The aim is to relate structure, dynamics, and interactions studied by spectroscopy to the biological reactions and functions.

Our main area of interest and expertise is how protein structure relates to function, in particular in proteins that utilize redox active metal cofactors or radicals for catalysis.

The botulinum neurotoxins are the most toxic substances known. Despite this, their therapeutic properties are becoming increasingly evident. We study these toxins using a variety of methods, including X-ray crystallography, to understand their mechanism of action, thereby enabling the development of their therapeutic properties. 

We use time-resolved spectroscopic techniques to study each component of the respiratory chain of aerobic bacteria - assemblies of components and intact mitochondrial membranes. A long-term goal is to visualize the dynamic processes of respiration in 3D - to reconstruct “molecular movies” showing functional dynamics of complex molecular machines in action.