South Africa Cooperative Research: Oxidation Mechanisms, Effect of pH and Probing of Possible Metal Ion Catalysis in the Reactions of Organosulfur Compounds

该奖项资助了为期两年的有机硫化学国际合作研究调查，重点是氧化机制、pH的影响和金属离子催化。这项合作带来了南非德班-韦斯特维尔大学的Sreekantha Jonnalagadda在硫在水、土壤和大气化学中的作用方面的环境化学专业知识，以及鲁本·西莫伊在无机和模型生物系统中硫化物方面的专业知识。合作者将进行一系列实验，使用电位法、浊度法、停流法、电子顺磁共振和计算机模拟技术来阐明这些化学反应。该项目将加强美国和南非的合作，并将为一名美国研究生和两名本科生以及一名南非学生提供国际研究经验。该项目的科学结果可能是有价值的，因为关于硫的氧化态的信息令人沮丧地稀少，尽管这种元素在环境和生物系统中发挥着关键作用；更具体地说，环境化学结果可能有助于减轻与美国和非洲采矿活动相关的环境污染，而解决硫醇的治疗和毒性潜力之间平衡的生物学研究可能有助于我们对人类健康的了解。该奖项由国际科学与工程办公室和化学部共同资助。

This award funds a two-year international cooperative research investigation on organosulfur chemistry, with a particular focus on oxidation mechanisms, effect of pH, and metal ion catalysis. The collaboration brings the environmental chemistry expertise of Sreekantha Jonnalagadda, from the University of Durban-Westville, South Africa, on the role of sulfur in water, soil and atmospheric chemistry, together with that of Reuben Simoyi's expertise on sulfur compounds in inorganic and model biological systems. The collaborators will undertake a series of experiments to elucidate these chemical reactions using potentiometry, turbidimetry, stopped flow, and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, and computer simulation techniques. The project will strengthen US-South African collaborations and would provide international research experience for one graduate student and two undergraduates from the U.S. and for one South African student. The scientific results of the project are likely to be of value because information on the oxidation states of sulfur is frustratingly sparse, in spite of the pivotal role that this element plays in environmental and biological systems; more specifically the environmental chemistry results may help mitigate environmental pollution associated with mining activities in the U.S. and in Africa, while the biological investigations that address the balance between the therapeutic vs. toxic potential of thiols may contribute to our understanding of human health. This award is co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Chemistry.