Application of X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy to Study Structure in Chemical and Biological Systems

在这个由实验物理化学和分子与细胞生物科学联合资助的项目中，斯坦福大学的Keith Hodgson将使用x射线吸收光谱来研究化学和生物系统中金属离子位点的结构和功能。研究内容包括金属氧化态对蛋白质（如喹啉氧化酶）结构和反应活性的影响，氮酶中配体结合的机制，甲烷单加氧酶酶反应循环中中间体的结构表征，以及无机簇状配合物和桥接金属组合物结构的阐明。理论处理扩展多重散射分析的化学系统也将发展和应用于这些系统。金属位点在生物分子的特定功能中起着关键作用。铁是血红蛋白的重要组成部分，也存在于氮酶中，氮酶是一种将大气中的氮转化为氨的分子，氨是自然界的肥料之一。本研究将确定各种生物重要系统中金属位点的结构、反应性和键合。这一信息将有助于生产具有适合特定需要的化学特性的酶，例如无害环境的肥料生产。

In this project jointly funded by Experimental Physical Chemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Keith Hodgson of Stanford University will use x-ray absorption spectroscopies to investigate the structure and function of metal ion sites in chemical and biological systems. Studies include the effect of metal oxidation state on structure and reactivity in proteins such as quinol oxidase, the mechanism of ligand binding in nitrogenase, the structural characterization of intermediates in the methane monooxygenase enzyme reaction cycle, and the elucidation of the structures of inorganic cluster complexes and bridged metal assemblies. Theoretical treatments to extend multiple scattering analysis for chemical systems will also be developed and applied to these systems. Metal sites play a key role in the specific function of biological molecules. Iron, an important component of hemoglobin, is also present in nitrogenase, the molecule which converts atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, one of nature's fertilizers. This research will determine the structures, reactivities, and bonding of metal sites in a variety of biologically important systems. This information will be valuable in the effort to produce enzymes with chemical characteristics suited to particular needs such as the environmentally benign production of fertilizer.