Dengfeng Liu

My research at UCSB was focused on the investigation of biomolecule structures using mass spectrometry, ion mobility and theoretical simulation methods. I had three main areas of interest:

• Hydration of biomolecules (peptides and nucleotides): Systematic determination of water binding sites, binding energies and conformational changes induced by hydration gives us insight into this process which bridges the gas and solution phases.
  
• Aggregation versus hydration for small peptides: A comparison of the energetics associated with peptide-peptide and peptide-water interactions helps us understand the competing forces involved in protein folding.
  
• Interactions of divalent metal ions (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺, etc.) with oxytocin and related peptide hormones: Location of metal binding sites and characterization of metal-induced conformational changes elucidates the biological role of metal ions in hormone receptor binding.

UCSB Publications:

Oxytocin-Receptor Binding: Why Divalent Metals Are Essential
Dengfeng Liu, Alexandra B. Seuthe, Oli T. Ehrler, Xiaohua Zhang, Thomas Wyttenbach, Jeffrey F. Hsu, and Michael T. Bowers
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 2024-2025

Hydration of Small Peptides
Thomas Wyttenbach, Dengfeng Liu, and Michael T. Bowers
Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 2005, 240, 221-232

α-Synuclein: Stable Compact and Extended Monomeric Structures and pH Dependence of Dimer Formation
Summer L. Bernstein, Dengfeng Liu, Thomas Wyttenbach, Michael T. Bowers, Jennifer C. Lee, Harry B. Gray, and Jay R. Winkler
J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 2004, 15, 1435-1443

Hydration of Protonated Primary Amines: Effects of Intermolecular and Intramolecular Hydrogen Bonds
Dengfeng Liu, Thomas Wyttenbach, and Michael T. Bowers
Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 2004, 236, 81-90

The Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Method and its Application to Duplex Formation of Oligonucleotides and Aggregation of Proteins
Thomas Wyttenbach, Erin S. Baker, Summer L. Bernstein, Alessandra Ferzoco, Jennifer Gidden, Dengfeng Liu, and Michael T. Bowers
In Advances in Mass Spectrometry: Proceedings of the 16th International Mass Spectrometry Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, August 31-September 5, 2003; A. E. Ashcroft, G. Brenton, and J. J. Monaghan, Eds.; Elsevier B. V.: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2004; Vol. 16, pp 189-200

Investigation of Noncovalent Interactions in Deprotonated Peptides: Structural and Energetic Competition between Aggregation and Hydration
Dengfeng Liu, Thomas Wyttenbach, Catherine J. Carpenter, and Michael T. Bowers
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 3261-3270

The Effect of the Initial Water of Hydration on the Energetics, Structures, and H/D Exchange Mechanism of a Family of Pentapeptides: An Experimental and Theoretical Study
Thomas Wyttenbach, Béla Paizs, Perdita Barran, Linda Breci, Dengfeng Liu, Sándor Suhai, Vicki H. Wysocki, and Michael T. Bowers
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 13768-13775

Sequential Hydration of Small Protonated Peptides
Dengfeng Liu, Thomas Wyttenbach, Perdita E. Barran, and Michael T. Bowers
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 8458-8464