Application of time-resolved femtosecond laser spectroscopy to biological, medical and environmental studies

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Real-time observations of reactions occurring in molecular systems are of great importance in diverse fields from chemistry, biology, materials science, environmental science to medicine.  The monitoring of reactions can lead to the identification of molecular pathways stimulating the reactions; once the pathways are identified, the reactions can then be modified and controlled.  Time-resolved ultrafast laser spectroscopy is a tremendously powerful technique for real-time observations of molecular reactions. This proposal describes an original program to apply high-sensitivity time-resolved femtosecond laser spectroscopic technique to various molecular systems.  The objectives are to obtain real-time observations of ultrafast electron transfer reactions in these systems and to reveal their importance for environmental processes, particularly atmospheric ozone depletion, and for biomedical applications such as cancer treatments.  New experiments are proposed to address ultrafast electron transfer reactions of halogen-containing molecules as ozone depleting molecules and as radio-/photo-sensitizing drugs for cancer treatments.  It is anticipated that these femtosecond laser spectroscopic studies will reveal the significance of ultrafast electron transfer reactions in biological and environmental systems, ranging from novel effects of water in radiobiology, molecular mechanisms of action of halopyrimidines as sensitizing drugs in radiotherapy of cancer, to understanding the mechanism for the formation of the ozone hole.