CAREER: Microanalytical Methods for Investigation of Metabolism and Transport of Substance P

这个由分析和表面化学项目支持的教师早期职业发展（Career）项目，侧重于开发分析方法来量化P物质通过血脑屏障的分配。Lunte教授和她在堪萨斯大学的学生将研究衍生P物质的方法，以便可以分析检测到它。一种策略是将P物质与萘-2,3-二甲醛进行柱前或柱后衍生化，并结合毛细管电泳，以便使用激光诱导荧光检测。第二种方法是用双缩脲试剂进行柱前衍生化，然后用双电极电化学检测进行色谱分离。这个职业项目将使学生学习最先进的方法来量化具有生物学意义的分析物的皮摩尔浓度，并测试P物质穿过血脑屏障并在中枢神经系统功能中发挥作用的假设。P物质是一种神经肽，在维持极低浓度的大脑功能状态中起作用。其作用的性质还没有被量化，因为分子上没有官能团可以传递光谱或电化学反应，可以用作分析信号。在这个CAREER研究项目中，Lunte教授和她的学生将开发两种不同的方法来分析P物质所需的浓度水平。对P物质进行修饰，使荧光信号可以在一个程序中测量，并在第二个程序中使用电化学修饰剂，使电分析信号可以测量。这些修改程序将与毛细管电泳分离方法相结合，以便对p物质进行选择性分析。除了让学生参与这项工作的教育影响外，Lunte教授还将为所有理科生开设一门课程，旨在提高科学学科之间以及与公众交流科学信息的效率。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project, supported in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, focusses on the development of analytical methods to quantify the partitioning of substance P through the blood brain barrier. Professor Lunte and her students at the University of Kansas will study methods to derivatize substance P so that it can be analytically detected. One strategy involves pre- or postcolumn derivatization of substance P with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde combined with capillary electrophoresis so that laser induced fluorescence detection can be used. The second approach involves precolumn derivatization with the biuret reagent followed by chromatographic separation with dual electrode electrochemical detection. This CAREER project will enable students to learn state-of-the-art methods for quantifying picomolar concentrations of biologically significant analytes and to test the hypothesis that substance P crosses the blood brain barrier and plays a role in central nervous system function. Substance P is a neuropeptide that plays a role in maintaining the functional status of the brain at very low concentration levels. The nature of its role has not been quantified because there are no functional groups on the molecule that impart either spectroscopic or electrochemical responses that can be used as analytical signals. In this CAREER research project Professor Lunte and her students will develop two separate methods that permit the analysis of substance P at the concentration levels required. Substance P will be modified so that a fluorescence signal can be measured in one procedure and an electrochemical modifying agent will be used in a second procedure so that an electroanalytical signal can be measured. These modification procedures will be coupled with the separation method capillary electrophoresis in order to make the analyses selective for substance P. In addition to the educational impact of involving students in this work, Professor Lunte will implement a course for all science students designed to improve the efficacy of communicating scientific information between scientific disciplines and to the public at large.