Structural knowledge of biological systems is key to understanding function, disease, and enzymatic mechanisms. The hierarchy of structural information includes knowledge of position, amount, and dynamics of chemical modifications, glycan branching, protein conformational changes and interactions with other proteins and small molecules, e.g., drugs. The Håkansson group focuses on developing mass spectrometry (MS) as a structural tool due to its inherent high sensitivity compared with conventional structural approaches such as NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, and its higher structural output compared with, e.g., single molecule techniques. The Håkansson group has a track record of innovation and creativity in the development of novel tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) activation strategies for structural determination of acidic biomolecules such as phosphopeptides and sialylated/sulfated glycans.
Negative-Ion Electron Capture Dissociation (niECD) Fundamentals
Discovery and Localization of Post-Translational Modifications
Targeted Proteomic Approaches for Natural Product Biosynthetic Pathway Discovery