GROSMAN, Claudio

Department Molecular and Integrative Physiology

Ph.D. (1996) University of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

   Research Topics

      - Structure-Function Studies of Neurotransmitter-Gated

      - ion channels at the single-molecule level

   Research Interests

   Structure-Function Studies of Neurotransmitter-Gated Ion Channels at the Single-Molecule Level

The laboratory is broadly interested in the relationship between structure and function in neurotransmitter-gated ion channels, with special emphasis on the Cys-loop superfamily of synaptic receptor-channels. Our main tools are single-channel recoding and analysis, and protein engineering techniques. Some of the particular issues we have been working on lately are:

• Quantitative characterization of fundamental properties of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels such as rate and equilibrium constants of ligand binding in the closed and open states
• Quantitative understanding of the different phenomena that contribute to the kinetics of the postsynaptic-current decay.
• Linear free-energy relationships and the dynamics of the closed ↔ open conformational change.

   Key Words:   Ion Channels, Kinetics, patch-clamp, electrophysiology, synaptic transmission

Current Funding: Start-up Account, National Institutes of Health