International Research Fellowship Program: The Atomic Structure of Amino Acids in Solution: A Neutron Diffraction and Computer Modeling Study

国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行三到二十四个月的研究。该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，并利用国外独特或互补的设施、专业知识和实验条件。该奖项将支持西尔维娅·E·麦克莱恩博士与英国卢瑟福阿普尔顿实验室的艾伦·K·索珀博士合作的为期22个月的研究奖学金。该项目的重点是研究氨基酸和水在水溶液中相互作用的局部结构，重点是氢键。中子衍射被用来确定这些体系中的氢键，在可能的情况下，用氢和氮同位素标记来增强中子衍射。此外，还利用计算机模拟模型对衍射结果进行了分析，从而能够对氢键的存在进行三维描述。这项迄今为止无与伦比的工作可能会极大地促进我们对溶液中氢键如何驱动蛋白质结构和功能的理解。这项工作是与无序材料小组组长A.K.索珀博士在位于英国卢瑟福·阿普尔顿实验室的ISIS中子散裂源合作进行的。

0404938McLainThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-two-month research fellowship by Dr. Sylvia E. McLain to work with Dr. Alan K. Soper at Rutherford Appelton Laboratory in the United Kingdom The focus of this project is to study the local structure of interactions between amino acids and water in aqueous solution, with an emphasis on hydrogen bonding. Neutron diffraction, augmented where possible with hydrogen and nitrogen isotope labeling, is used to determine the hydrogen bonding in these systems. In addition, the diffraction results are analyzed with a computer simulation models to enable a three dimensional description of the hydrogen bonding present. This work, hitherto unparalleled, is likely to significantly advance our understanding of how hydrogen bonding in solution drives protein structure and function. This work is performed in collaboration with Dr. A. K. Soper, Disordered Materials group leader, at the ISIS neutron spallation source located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom.