Inorganic Reactive Sulfur Species and Biofilms

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Michael Ashby, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program to explore the chemistry and biology of a cascade of reactive sulfur species that begins with hypothiocyanite (OSCN-), a human non-immunological defense factor that is associated with exocrine fluids. Through collaborations between inorganic chemists and microbiologists, the centerpiece of this interdisciplinary project will test the hypothesis that hypothiocyanite itself is too short-lived to account for persistent antimicrobial activity. The role of hypothiocyanite as an antimicrobial has not been decisively established because it is only the first in a cascade of reactive sulfur species that form under physiological conditions. Identification and quantification of the species present in the hypothiocyanite system and the development of methods to establish their antimicrobial properties in bacterial models are major themes of this project. The interdisciplinarity of this undertaking will assure that students will have exposure to both chemistry and microbiology principles.