Fundamental Gas-Phase Properties of Non-Protein Amino Acids and Non-Protein Amino Acid - Containing Peptides

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In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program, Professor Poutsma from College of William and Mary and his students will investigate amino acids and their gas phase ion chemistry. The first goal is to understand the subtle interplay between the structure of amino acids and their gas-phase energetic properties. The researchers will focus on the gas phase thermochemistry of so-called non-protein amino acids (NPAA), many of which are toxic to humans and other animals in part due to structural similarity to one or more of the twenty common protein amino acids (PAA). Absolute gas-phase thermochemical properties will be determined for naturally-occurring non-protein amino acids (NPAA) as compared to their PAA counterparts, both as isolated amino acids and when incorporated into small peptides.The second goal focuses on the effects of NPAA-substitution into small peptides which will be accomplished by studying fragmentation patterns of PAA peptides and their NPAA analogs. There is biological relevance to this project in that many NPAA can mis-incorporate into peptides and proteins. Detailed knowledge of any unusual fragmentation behavior for peptides containing NPAAs will be necessary in order to interpret mass spectra from both top-down and bottom-up proteomics experiments. The ultimate goal is to better understand the mechanisms for "selective" fragmentations in low-energy tandem mass spectrometry experiments that lead to incomplete sequence coverage for the peptide of interest. The main function of a primarily undergraduate chemistry department is the preparation of future generations of scientists. At the College of William and Mary, this charge is accomplished through both classroom teaching and undergraduate research. Since over eighty percent of the College's chemistry majors perform undergraduate research, over the three years of this award it is anticipated that 15-20 undergraduate students will perform research in Professor Poutsma's laboratory. Based on current demographics, approximately one-half of these students will be either female or a member of an underrepresented group.