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ESR 6: Katerina Peterková
NMR study of interactions between chromophore ligands and G-quadruplexes
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LightDyNAmics Research
Scientific Background
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Kateřina will study interactions between G-quadruplexes and covalently or non-covalently bound chromophores by using NMR spectroscopy. DNA strongly absorbs UV light while interaction with visible light is poor. The absorption properties can be influenced by bound chromophores. In addition, interaction with light can trigger conformational changes or even damage DNA molecules. Kateřina will strive to achieve the greatest possible stabilization effect by binding chromophores to G-quadruplexes and study the structural aspect of these interactions with the aim to develop stable G-quadruplex structures that will be useful as molecular sensors or probes.
Kateřina holds a Bachelor degree in Biophysical chemistry and a Master degree in Structural chemistry, both from Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. During her bachelor’s program she decided to focus her further studies on structural characterization of biomolecules. In 2017 she spent three months in the frame of an Erasmus+ traineeship programme at the National institute of chemistry, Slovenia, in the research group of Prof. Janez Plavec dealing with a new tetrahelical family of DNA structures called AGCGA‑quadruplexes. In October 2018 she joined the LightDyNAmics multidisciplinary European Training Network as a PhD student at the National institute of chemistry in Slovenia.
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