CAREER: Infrared Spectroscopy of Synthetic and Semisynthetic Polypeptides

霍利奥克山学院的肖恩·迪凯特教授通过实验物理化学项目的职业资助获得资助。 他将通过使用同位素取代的合成肽来研究肽的基本红外光谱特性。 测量包括红外吸收和振动圆二色光谱。 肽的螺旋-卷曲转变的热力学和动力学将在以前不可能使用同位素取代的化合物的水平上进行研究。 本研究的目的也在于探讨多肽的合成策略。 这项工作将有助于解决蛋白质折叠问题。 迪凯特教授的教学工作重点是指导本科生的研究，设计一个新的先进的化学实验室课程，并进行生物技术和伦理学的新课程。 了解蛋白质的结构以及它们如何折叠成天然形式是目前生物物理学的一个关键目标。 一种实验方法是使用红外光作为测量技术来研究肽及其真实的折叠。 然而，红外光和肽的相互作用尚未完全了解，这项工作将填补文献中大量红外数据解释的重要空白。 这项工作将使科学家能够更好地确定蛋白质结构，并开发肽和蛋白质疗法。 迪凯特教授的教育计划将为化学专业和非专业学生提供服务，并将对促进女性在科学领域的发展产生影响。

Professor Sean Decatur of Mount Holyoke College is funded through a CAREER grant in the Experimental Physical Chemistry program. He will study the fundamental infrared spectroscopic properties of peptides by the use of isotopically substituted synthetic peptides. Measurements include infrared absorption and vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy. The thermodynamics and kinetics of the helix-coil transition of peptides will be studied at a level previously not possible using the isotopically substituted compounds. Some synthetic strategies for the peptides are also the aim of this research. The work will be of use in protein folding problems. Professor Decatur's teaching efforts are focused on mentoring undergraduates in research, designing a new advanced chemistry laboratory course and conducting a new course on biotechnology and ethics. Understanding the structures of proteins and how they fold into their native forms is a key goal in biophysics at present. One experimental approach is to study peptides and their folding in real time using infrared light as a measurement technique. However, the interaction of infrared light and peptides is not fully understood, and this work will fill in important gaps in the interpretation of a large amount of infrared data already in the literature. The work will allow scientists to better ascertain protein structures, and to develop peptide and protein therapeutics. Professor Decatur's education plan will serve both chemistry majors and nonmajors, and will have impact on promoting women in scientific fields.