U.S.-Germany Program: Dissertation Research in Biochemistry using Pulse Radiolysis

该奖项支持匹兹堡大学Valerian Kagan教授的博士生Radoslov Goldman对德国进行研究访问。由于有机会在德国oberschleisheim环境与健康研究中心辐射生物学研究所Wolf Bors教授的实验室工作10周，Goldman先生在生物化学方面的论文研究将得到加强。他研究的一般课题是低能自由基与蛋白质反应的机理。他特别对低分子量的苯氧基自由基和蛋白质巯基的催化反应感兴趣，包括RNA裂解过程。鲍斯博士是反应速率脉冲辐射分解研究方面的专家，他最近开发的研究水溶液中苯氧基反应的技术将对戈德曼先生的论文研究非常宝贵。作为回报，鲍斯博士将从他的技术扩展到蛋白质和多肽中受益。有机硫化合物的电子结构决定了它们作为抗氧化剂的能力以及它们在催化和酶中的作用。通过将已知的结构特征与氧化速率联系起来的实验，这项研究将增加对实际控制这些过程速率的因素的了解。

This award supports a research visit to Germany by Radoslov Goldman, a doctoral degree student of Professor Valerian Kagan at the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Goldman's dissertation research in biochemistry will be enhanced by the opportunity to work for ten weeks in the laboratory of Professor Wolf Bors of the Institute for Radiation Biology at the Research Center for Environment and Health in Oberschleissheim, Germany. The general subject of his research is the mechanism of reactions of low energy radicals with proteins. In particular, he is interested in the catalytic reactions of phenoxyl radicals with low molecular weight and protein sulfhydryl groups, which include processes in RNA cleavage. Dr. Bors is an expert in pulse radiolytic studies of reaction rates and his recently developed technique for studying phenoxyl-radical reactions in aqueous solutions will be invaluable to Mr. Goldman's dissertation research. In return, Dr. Bors will benefit from the extension of his technique to proteins and peptides. The electronic structure of organic sulfur compounds determines their abilities as antioxidants and their roles in catalysis and enzymes. This research will add to the knowledge of the factors which actually control the rates of these processes, through experiments which link known structural characteristics to rates of oxidation.