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Nikolai R. Skrynnikov
Associate Professor—Analytical Chemistry and Biochemistry
Email: nikolai@purdue.edu
Phone: 765-494-8519
Office: WTHR 331A
For Professor Skrynnikov's individual Home Page click here.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is one of the most powerful and versatile techniques used for the characterization of biomolecules. Notably, NMR is used to study proteins and nucleic acids under conditions that are reasonably close to those found inside living cells, achieving nearly complete structural and dynamic characterization of the molecules. Short of complete characterization, a number of important questions can be answered with purposefully designed NMR experiments.
Our research involves the development and application of NMR techniques with the focus on complex forms of molecular motion, such as slow time-scale (µs-ms) protein dynamics, dynamics of unfolded and partially folded proteins, and dynamics involved in protein-ligand interactions. These forms of motion often hold the key to the efficiency and timing of enzymatic catalysis, signal transduction, and other biological processes of critical importance. 
Our research involves a broad range of tasks beginning with bacterial expression and purification of proteins and, prominently, the design, implementation, and execution of multidimensional heteronuclear NMR experiments. On the theoretical side, the projects are supported by the spin density matrix calculations, molecular dynamics and density functional theory computations.
Education
B.Sc., 1989, M.Sc., 1991 Leningrad State University; Ph.D. 1996 McGill University; postdoctoral fellow, 1997-98, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; postdoctoral fellow, 1999-2002, University of Toronto.Recognitions
- Centennial Postdoctoral Fellowship, Medical Research Council of Canada, 2000-2002
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Quebec Research Foundation for Natural Science and Technology, 1997 (declin, 1999
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Science & Engineering Research Council of Canada, 1997-1998
- J.W. McConnel Memorial Scholarship, McGill University, 1996
- McGill Major Award, McGill University, 1993-1995
Selected Publications
- Ward, J. M.;Skrynnikov, N. R., Very large residual dipolar couplings from deuterated ubiquitin . Journal of Biomolecular Nmr 2012 , 54 , 53-67.
- Agarwal V.;Xue, Y.;Reif, B.;Skrynnikov, N. R., Protein Side-Chain Dynamics As Observed by Solution- and Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy: A Similarity Revealed . Journal of the American Chemical Society 2008 , 130 , 16611-16621.
- Skrynnikov N. R., Asymmetric doublets in MAS NMR: coherent and incoherent mechanisms . Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry 2007 , 45 , S161-S173.