MRI: Acquisition of a Pulsed EPR Spectrometer for Miami University

有了这项重大研究仪器计划（MRI）的奖励，牛津大学迈阿密大学化学和生物化学系将获得一台脉冲EPR光谱仪。脉冲EPR光谱仪将用于多个研究项目，包括1）膜蛋白的结构表征，2）金属-β-内酰胺酶的结构测定，3）ATP和/或DNA与粘附素复合物的结构测定和结合，4）各种HMGA 1/DNA/蛋白质复合物的结构特性，以及5）几种独特的纳米结构人工酶/蛋白质的表征。这将是俄亥俄州学术机构安装的第一台脉冲EPR光谱仪，之后将扩展到俄亥俄州的其他六个学术机构。电子顺磁共振（EPR）光谱仪可提供分子和分子电子结构的信息。它还可以用于获得有关自由基寿命的信息，自由基是通常对肿瘤生长和/或各种化学反应的起始至关重要的短寿命物质。脉冲电子顺磁共振（EPR）方法，如脉冲ENDOR，已成功地用于研究生物样品中的顺磁中心的局部结构和动力学。不同的脉冲EPR方法允许区分对EPR谱的不同贡献，并且可以帮助解开由重叠共振线组成的复杂EPR谱，这通常在无序蛋白质样品中发现。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI), the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Miami University at Oxford will acquire a pulsed EPR spectrometer. The pulsed EPR spectrometer will be utilized in several research projects including 1) structural characterization of membrane proteins, 2) structural determination of Metallo-â-lactamases, 3) structural determination and binding of ATP and/or DNA to the Cohesin Complex, 4) structural properties of various HMGA1/DNA/protein complexes, and 5) characterization of several unique nanostructured artificial enzymes/proteins. This would be the first pulsed EPR spectrometer placed at an academic institution in the state of Ohio and access would be expanded to include six other academic institutions in the state of Ohio.An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer yields information on the molecular and electronic structure of molecules. It may also be used to obtain information about the lifetimes of free radicals, short-lived species that are often essential for the initiation of tumor growth and/or a variety of chemical reactions. Pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) methods such as pulsed ENDOR, have been successfully utilized to investigate the local structure and dynamics of paramagnetic centers in biological samples. Different pulsed EPR methods allow different contributions to the EPR spectra to be distinguished and can help unravel complicated EPR spectra consisting of overlapping resonance lines, often found in disordered protein samples.