Versatile Synthesis of Chlorophylls and Bacteriochlorophylls for Fundamental Studies in Photosynthesis

用于光合作用基础研究的叶绿素和细菌叶绿素的多功能合成

• 批准号: 2348052
• 负责人: Jonathan Lindsey
• 金额: $ 57.5万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-07-01 至 2027-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2348052&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Versatile; Synthesis; Chlorophylls; Bacteriochlorophylls; Fundamental

With the support of the Chemical Synthesis program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Jonathan S. Lindsey of North Carolina State University will study how to synthesize the chief pigments that carry out photosynthesis. Those pigments are the well-known chlorophylls that give plants their characteristic green color, and the lesser-known bacteriochlorophylls of selected bacteria. The studies will develop methods for creating Nature’s molecules for photosynthesis. The reason for carrying out this work is that the ability to create these molecules, and variants thereof, will allow examination of deep questions concerning their basic chemistry and to probe aspects of the conversion of light into chemical energy. The broader impacts of the proposed activity will include the professional development of high school science teachers to improve teaching of photosynthesis (via a chlorophyll-based experiment) in schools and to inspire high school students to STEM, and the expanded deployment to middle schools of a previously developed chlorophyll experiment.The lack of synthetic methods for preparing (bacterio)chlorophylls and analogues constitutes an intellectual and technical deficit in the photosynthetic sciences. The Lindsey lab aims to fill this gap by developing robust methods for synthesis of such valuable macrocycles. A casual observer may consider the synthesis of chlorophyll to be a finished story – and this couldn't be more wrong. In fact, no small-molecule synthetic starting material has ever been converted to a chlorophyll by chemical synthesis, and there are no reports of any attempts to synthesize bacteriochlorophylls. The proposed work will build on the first example of the total synthesis of a photosynthetic tetrapyrrole, wherein the requisite stereochemical features are installed with simple early precursors via established asymmetric methods. Objectives to be met are to further streamline a recently developed synthetic route; explore a step-down dehydrogenation approach that provides access from bacteriochlorins to chlorins and porphyrins; examine late-stage derivatization approaches to install critical peripheral functional groups; and in so doing demonstrate access to a handful of representative members of photosynthetic tetrapyrroles. Six collaborations using synthetic (bacterio)chlorophylls will be undertaken with labs in the US, Germany, and Japan. Every effort will be made to use practical methods that are broadly accessible.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在化学系的化学合成项目的支持下，乔纳森·S。北卡罗来纳州州立大学的林赛将研究如何合成进行光合作用的主要色素。 这些色素是众所周知的叶绿素，赋予植物特有的绿色颜色，以及鲜为人知的细菌叶绿素。这些研究将开发创造自然分子用于光合作用的方法。 开展这项工作的原因是，创造这些分子及其变体的能力将允许检查有关其基本化学的深层问题，并探索光转化为化学能的各个方面。拟议活动的更广泛影响将包括高中科学教师的专业发展，以改善光合作用的教学（通过基于叶绿素的实验）在学校，并激励高中生干，以及将先前开发的叶绿素实验扩大到中学。缺乏合成方法来制备（细菌）叶绿素及其类似物构成了光合科学中的智力和技术缺陷。林赛实验室的目标是通过开发合成这种有价值的大环化合物的强大方法来填补这一空白。一个不经意的观察者可能会认为叶绿素的合成是一个完成的故事-这是错误的。 事实上，还没有小分子合成起始材料通过化学合成转化为叶绿素，也没有任何尝试合成细菌叶绿素的报道。 拟议的工作将建立在第一个例子的全合成的光合作用四吡咯，其中所需的立体化学功能安装简单的早期前体通过建立不对称的方法。 要满足的目标是进一步简化最近开发的合成路线;探索一个降压脱氢的方法，提供访问从菌绿素二氢卟酚和卟啉;检查后期衍生化方法安装关键的外围功能组;并在这样做证明获得少数代表性成员的光合作用四吡咯。 将与美国、德国和日本的实验室进行六项使用合成（细菌）叶绿素的合作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。