CRC: Motion of biologically relevant molecules in restricted environments

科罗拉多州立大学的一组科学家正在研究受限环境中分子的运动，如脂双层、胶束、反胶束、脂质体、囊泡和细胞器。更具体地说，该团队感兴趣的是1)自组装系统中分子探针的位置和运动；2)限制、分子位置和运动对分子间化学反应的影响，特别是钒的齐聚、电子和质子转移；3)限制对大分子位置和运动的影响，以及对分子内反应的影响，如异构化和DNA发夹折叠；以及4)胰岛素受体在脂质界面的运动。在这些小而拥挤的环境中，分子可以表现出截然不同的迁移率和较慢的运动速度。对这些运动进行表征将使该团队能够了解生物系统中发生的化学物质，并深入了解非生物环境，如纳米孔。该团队将应用一系列技术，包括磁共振光谱、稳态、时间分辨光学光谱来探索分子运动。此外，该团队将开发基于全内反射照明的新光学成像仪器，以研究单分子，通过监测偏振荧光的波动来测量单分子的旋转扩散。这些研究将带来适用于膜研究的新技术。该团队的科学家包括光谱学家、合成化学家和生物学家。南希·莱文格、黛比·克兰斯、乔治·巴里萨斯、艾伦·范·奥登、克里斯托弗·里特纳和黛博拉·罗斯是来自CSU的资深科学家。与CSU研究人员合作的是科罗拉多州立大学的桑德拉·博内蒂(科罗拉多州立大学普韦布洛分校)、布里奇特·古尔利(德堡大学)和迈克尔·约翰逊(新墨西哥州立大学)，他们都来自主要是本科生和/或高级少数族裔服务机构。这一合作还得益于马里亚诺·科雷亚(阿根廷卡亚尔托国立大学)的国际贡献。这一处于化学、物理和生物科学前沿的跨学科项目为所有团队成员提供了一个独特的合作研究环境，并提供了开展以研究主题为重点的K-12教育活动的机会。

A team of scientists at Colorado State University is investigating the motions of molecules in restricted environments such as lipid bilayers, micelles, reverse micelles, liposomes, vesicles, and organelles. More specifically, the team is interested in 1) location and motion of molecular probes in self-assembled systems; 2) the influence of confinement, molecule location and motion on intermolecular chemical reactions, specifically vanadium oligomerization, electron and proton transfer; 3) the impact of confinement on large molecule location and motion, and on intramolecular reactions, such as isomerization and DNA hairpin folding; and 4) the motion of the insulin receptor in lipid interfaces. In these small and crowded environments molecules can display dramatically different mobilities and slower movements. Characterizing these motions will allow the team to understand the chemistry occurring in biological systems as well as give insight into non-biological environments such as nanoscale pores.The team will apply a range of techniques, including magnetic resonance spectroscopies, steady-state, time-resolved optical spectroscopies to explore molecular motion. In addition, the team will develop new optical imaging instrumentation based on total internal reflection illumination to study single molecule that measures the rotational diffusion of single molecules by monitoring fluctuations in polarized fluorescence. These studies will lead to new techniques appropriate for membrane studies.The scientists on the team include spectroscopists, synthetic chemists and biologists. Nancy Levinger, Debbie Crans, George Barisas, Alan Van Orden, Christopher Rithner and Deborah Roess comprise the senior scientists from CSU. Collaborating with the CSU researchers are Sandra Bonetti (Colorado State University, Pueblo), Bridget Gourley (DePauw University) and Michael Johnson (New Mexico State University), all from primarily undergraduate and/or high minority serving institutions. The collaboration also benefits from the international contributions of Mariano Correa (Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto, Argentina). This interdisciplinary project at the frontier of the chemical, physical and biological sciences presents a unique collaborative research environment for all team members as well as the opportunity to develop K-12 educational activities focusing on the research theme.