Matteo Levantino
| Position: | Assistant Professor |
| Affiliation: | Department of Physical and Astronomical Sciences
University of Palermo Via Archirafi 36 I-90123 Palermo Tel: (+39) 091 6234-287 Fax: (+39) 091 616-2461 |
| Email: | levantino@fisica.unipa.it |
Research Statement
Current research focuses on elucidating the characteristic features of proteins energy landscape. Time-resolved optical spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray scattering are used to probe the dynamics of functionally relevant conformational changes in proteins.
The relationship between protein motions and the dynamics of the solvent is investigated with different experimental techniques (magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, dielectric spectroscopy, etc.) in a wide range of experimental parameters such as temperature and/or viscosity.
Current Projects
- Kinetics of the R-T quaternary structural change in hemoglobin by time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering.
- Native human neuroserpin and its pathological mutants: molecular basis of function and malfunction.
- Time-resolved X-ray scattering investigation of protein folding/unfolding induced by a photoactivated pH jump.
- Dynamics of water confined in silica hydrogels by rotational dynamics of paramagnetic probes.
- Tunneling effect in myoglobin and hemoglobin at cryogenic temperatures.
- Spectroscopic investigation of physiologically relevant active site distorsions in heme proteins.
Selected Publications
- Cammarata M, Levantino M, Schotte F, Anfinrud PA, Ewald F, Choi J, Cupane A, Wulff M, Ihee H
Tracking the structural dynamics of proteins in solution using time-resolved wide-angle X-ray scattering
Nature Methods (5): 881-886, 2008. [Abstract] - Levantino M, Huang Q, Cupane A, Laberge M, Hagarman A, Schweitzer-Stenner R
The importance of vibronic perturbations in ferrocytochrome c spectra: a reevaluation of spectral properties based on low-temperature optical absorption, resonance Raman, and molecular-dynamics simulations
J. Chem. Phys. (123): 054508(1)-054508(12), 2005. [Abstract] - Levantino M, Cupane A, Zimanyi L, Ormos P
Different relaxations in myoglobin after photolysis
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (101): 14402-14407, 2004. [Abstract] - Levantino M, Cupane A, Zimanyi L
Quaternary structure dependence of kinetic hole burning and conformational substates interconversion in hemoglobin
Biochemistry (42): 4499-4505, 2003. [Abstract] - Cupane A, Levantino M, Santangelo MG
Near-infrared spectra of water confined in silica hydrogels in the temperature interval 365-5K
J. Phys. Chem. B (106): 11323-11328, 2002. [Abstract]