Acquisition of a Spectrofluorometer for Faculty-Mentored Student Research in Biochemistry

9977518摘要本项目涉及获得一台荧光光谱仪，供本科生在生物化学课程实验室研究和个别教师指导的研究中使用。该仪器将允许学生测量生物分子的荧光特性。激发单色仪和发射单色仪都可以独立或同步扫描。荧光光谱学提供的特异性和灵敏度将比使用放射性同位素具有优势，而不需要使用放射性同位素所需的成本或基础设施。学生将使用荧光光谱仪研究膜结构和动力学，蛋白质结构和稳定性，蛋白质折叠和展开，大分子和配体之间的结合相互作用，促进扩散和细胞参与配体识别和信号转导。个人研究项目将包括丝氨酸蛋白酶和酸性磷酸酶抑制剂的表征，这些抑制剂可用于探测与酶活性表达和调节相关的酶的结构变化。此外，荧光光谱将用于表征正常和氧化低密度脂蛋白与内皮细胞结合的结合、内化和细胞内代谢变化。这些变化包括检测活性氧、氧化修饰蛋白和脂质以及特定基因的激活/抑制。

9977518Abstract This project involves the acquisition of a spectrofluorometer that will be used by undergraduates in biochemistry course laboratory research and in individual faculty mentored research. The instrument will allow students to measure fluorescent properties of biological molecules. Both excitation and emission monochromators can be scanned independently or synchronously. The specificity and sensitivity offered by fluorescence spectroscopy will provide advantages over radioisotope use without the cost or infrastructure required for their use. Students will use the spectrofluorometer to investigate membrane structure and dynamics, protein structure and stability, protein folding and unfolding, binding interactions between macromolecules and ligands, facilitated diffusion and cell involvement in ligand recognition and signal transduction. Individual research projects will include characterization of serine protease and acid phosphatase inhibitors which can be used to probe structural changes in the enzyme associated with expression and regulation of enzyme activity. In addition fluorescence spectroscopy will be used to characterize the binding, internalization and intracellular changes in metabolism on binding of normal and oxidized low density lipoprotein to endothelial cells. These changes include detection of reactive oxygen species, oxidatively-modified proteins and lipids and activation/inhibition of specific genes.