CAREER: Development Plan for Optical / Nuclear Double Resonance Studies of Proteins and Inclusion Complexes Oriented in Liquid Crystalline Matrices

在这项由化学系实验物理化学计划资助的项目中，南伊利诺伊大学卡本代尔分校的Boyd Goodson教授将从事对液晶基质中分子和(生物)大分子络合物的结构和动力学的核磁共振和光学/核双共振(OnDR)研究。其目的是提高对主-客体相互作用、蛋白质-配体结合事件和其他涉及弱但特定相互作用的生物现象的理解。在这个项目的第二部分，他将把这些研究计划纳入本科生的物理化学课程，同时指导本科生进行独立研究。研究部分由三个相关部分组成：1)包合物和位于不同晶体基质中的氙蛋白络合物的制备和核磁共振研究；2)利用激光极化的氙气通过自旋-自旋交叉弛豫探测与形成络合物的分子和蛋白质的相互作用；以及3)这两个部分的组合，从而通过光学增强氙核磁化和利用液晶恢复氙气与主体分子之间的偶极耦合来放大相互作用。这项研究将在研究生和本科生中进行。将研究融入本科课程将强调深度而不是广度，以探究为基础的学习，以及接触最先进的方法。

In this project, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Boyd Goodson of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale will engage in NMR and optical/nuclear double resonance (ONDR) studies of the structure and dynamics of molecular and (bio)macromolecular complexes in liquid-crystalline matrices. The goal is to bring about an improved understanding of host-guest interactions, protein-ligand binding events, and other biological phenomena involving weak but specific interactions. In a second part of this project he will incorporate these research initiatives into the undergraduate physical chemistry curriculum while mentoring undergraduate students in independent research. The research part consists of three related components: 1) the preparation and NMR investigation of inclusion complexes and xenon-protein complexes oriented in various crystalline matrices; 2) the use of laser-polarized xenon to probe interactions with complex-forming molecules and proteins via spin-spin cross-relaxation; and 3) the combination of these two components, whereby the interactions will be amplified by both the optical enhancement of xenon nuclear magnetization and the restoration of dipolar couplings between xenon and host molecules using liquid crystals. The research will be conducted with graduate and undergraduate students. The integration of research into the undergraduate curriculum will emphasize depth over breadth, inquiry-based learning, and exposure to state-of-the-art methods.