Piotr Mak, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Chemistry
Education
Ph.D., Jagiellonian University, Poland
M.S., Jagiellonian University, Poland
Research Interests
Mak's research focuses on the structural characterization of stable terminal states and unstable intermediates involved in the enzymatic cycles of heme proteins that play important roles in human physiology, as well as those that have potential for application to biotechnological processes. These goals are achieved using mainly resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopy, which has long been recognized as a remarkably effective probe of heme-containing enzymes. The coupling of rR spectroscopy with cryoradiolysis method, which involves γ-irradiation of the freeze-trapped dioxygen adducts, provides an effective method to generate, trap and structurally characterize otherwise elusive enzymatic intermediates.
Labs and Facilities
Publications and Media Placements
Mak, P. J. "Resonance Raman spectroscopy as a structural probe of cytochrome P450 enzymatic cycle", Handbook of Porphyrin Science, Kadish, K. M.; Smith, K.; Guilard, R. Eds., World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 2016, 42, 1-120.
Mak, P. J.; Gregory, M. C.; Denisov, I. G.; Sligar, S. G.; Kincaid, J. R. "Unveiling the crucial intermediates in androgen production", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2015, 112, 15856-15861.
Mak, P. J.; Thammawichai, W.; Wiedenhoeft, D.; Kincaid, J. R. "Resonance Raman spectroscopy reveals pH-dependent active site structural changes of Lactoperoxidase Compound 0 and its ferryl heme O-O bond cleavage products", J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 349-361.
Mak, P. J.; Luthra, A.; Sligar, S. G.; Kincaid; J. R. "Resonance Raman spectroscopy of the oxygenated intermediates of CYP19 implicates a Compound I intermediate in the final lyase step", J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 4825-4828.
Mak, P. J.; Yang, Y.; Im, S.-C.; Waskell, L. A.; Kincaid, J. R. "Experimental Documentation of the Structural Consequences of Hydrogen-Bonding Interactions to the Proximal Cysteine of a Cytochrome P450", Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2012, 51, 10403-10407.
Mak, P. J.; Denisov, I.G.; Grinkova, Y. V.; Sligar, S. G.; Kincaid, J. R. "Defining CYP3A4 Structural Responses to Substrate Binding. Raman Spectroscopic Studies of a Nanodisc-Incorporated Mammalian Cytochrome P450", J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133, 1357-1366.
Mak, P. J.; Zhang, H.; Hollenberg, P. F.; Kincaid, J. R. "Defining the Structural Consequences of Mechanism-Based Inactivation of Mammalian Cytochrome P450 2B4 Using Resonance Raman Spectroscopy", J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 1494-1495.