Acquisition of a Spectrofluorometer for Faculty-Mentored Student Research in Biochemistry

购买一台分光荧光计用于教师指导的学生生物化学研究

• 批准号: 9977518
• 负责人: Henry Jakubowski
• 金额: $ 2.1万
• 依托单位: College of Saint Benedict
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-09-01 至 2002-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9977518&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Acquisition; Spectrofluorometer; Faculty; Mentored; Student

9977518Abstract This project involves the acquisition of a spectrofluorometer that will be used by undergraduates in biochemistry course laboratory research and in individual faculty mentored research. The instrument will allow students to measure fluorescent properties of biological molecules. Both excitation and emission monochromators can be scanned independently or synchronously. The specificity and sensitivity offered by fluorescence spectroscopy will provide advantages over radioisotope use without the cost or infrastructure required for their use. Students will use the spectrofluorometer to investigate membrane structure and dynamics, protein structure and stability, protein folding and unfolding, binding interactions between macromolecules and ligands, facilitated diffusion and cell involvement in ligand recognition and signal transduction. Individual research projects will include characterization of serine protease and acid phosphatase inhibitors which can be used to probe structural changes in the enzyme associated with expression and regulation of enzyme activity. In addition fluorescence spectroscopy will be used to characterize the binding, internalization and intracellular changes in metabolism on binding of normal and oxidized low density lipoprotein to endothelial cells. These changes include detection of reactive oxygen species, oxidatively-modified proteins and lipids and activation/inhibition of specific genes.

这个项目涉及到一台荧光分光光度计的购置，它将被本科生用于生物化学课程的实验室研究和个别教员指导的研究。该仪器将允许学生测量生物分子的荧光性质。激发和发射单色仪均可独立或同步扫描。荧光光谱学提供的特异性和灵敏度将提供比放射性同位素使用更好的优势，而不需要使用它们所需的成本或基础设施。学生将使用荧光光谱仪研究膜的结构和动力学，蛋白质的结构和稳定性，蛋白质的折叠和展开，大分子和配体之间的结合作用，促进扩散和细胞参与配体识别和信号转导。个别研究项目将包括丝氨酸蛋白酶和酸性磷酸酶抑制剂的特性，可用于探索与酶活性的表达和调节相关的酶的结构变化。此外，还将利用荧光光谱来表征正常和氧化低密度脂蛋白与内皮细胞结合时的结合、内化和细胞内代谢的变化。这些变化包括检测活性氧物种、氧化修饰的蛋白质和脂质以及特定基因的激活/抑制。