Dynamics of Electronically Excited States - Biomolecules in the Gas Phase

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In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. David W. Pratt of the University of Pittsburgh and his undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral research students will conduct high resolution electronic, vibrational, and rotational spectroscopic measurements of gas phase biomolecules in the collision-free environment of molecular beams and supersonic jets. Single frequency, CW ring dye lasers operating in the UV and chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) techniques will be employed to characterize amino acids, small peptides, and nucleic acid base pairs, both as isolated species and in combination with weakly bound solvent molecules The Pratt research group will determine the structures, electric dipole moments and dynamical properties of all species along thermally accessible vibrational coordinates, including chemically reactive ones, in the gas phase. These species include "foldons", short sequences of amino acids that initiate the folding of large proteins; the chromophore of green fluorescent protein; chiral molecules active in tasting and smelling; and water clusters containing different biomolecules. They will focus on the intrinsic secondary structures of such species and their charge distributions in both electronic ground states and excited states, thereby establishing a link to photobiology and the light-induced redistributions of charge that are essential to biological function. Besides the broader scientific impacts of the research being supported, Prof. Pratt continues to provide excellent scientific training to his research students. He is actively involved in developing curricular materials for undergraduates not majoring in the sciences. Additionally, Prof. Pratt is currently working with the University of Pittsburgh's Learning & Research Development Center, the School of Education and the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education to provide professional development opportunities for middle school science teachers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.