Chemistry of High-Energy Content Reagents

有了这个更新奖的有机和高分子化学计划支持博士加里B的工作。舒斯特在亚特兰大的格鲁吉亚理工学院。 该研究旨在扩展早期关于DNA中电子传导的工作，以了解传导过程的细节。 DNA的氧化是遗传损伤的主要来源，其第一步是去除电子，随后是电子迁移到初始自由基阳离子以产生鸟嘌呤（G）自由基阳离子，并最终在G位点切割DNA链，并且在某些情况下会导致癌症，导致突变或细胞死亡。拟议的研究将集中在测试声子辅助极化子的各个方面-电子运动的跳跃机制 在这个模型中，DNA中碱基的氧化引发了结构畸变，因为链扭曲使相邻碱基对上的初始自由基阳离子离域。 离域的自由基阳离子称为极化子。极化子被认为是沿着DNA迁移的，就像压缩通过弹簧一样，因为邻近极化子的碱基对加入它，而其他碱基对由于热运动（声子）而离开，而电子则从碱基跳到碱基。 水对极化子的捕获导致DNA的化学损伤。 参加这项研究的学生将学习一些实验技术;通过与其他具有特殊仪器和专业知识的科学家合作，学习将得到加强。

With this renewal award the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Dr. Gary B. Schuster at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The research aims to extend earlier work on electron conduction in DNA, with the idea of understanding the details of the conduction process. Oxidation of DNA, with removal of an electron as a first step, followed by electron migration to the initial radical cation to give a guanine (G) radical cation, and eventual DNA strand cleavage at a G site, is a major source of genetic damage, and can lead in some cases to cancer causing mutations or cell death.The proposed research will focus on testing various aspects of the phonon-assisted polaron-hopping mechanism of electron motion. In this model, the oxidation of a base in the DNA initiates a structural distortion as the chain contorts to delocalize the initial radical cation over adjacent base pairs. The delocalized radical cation is called a polaron. Polarons are thought to migrate along the DNA like a compression moves through a spring, as base pairs adjacent to the polaron join it and others leave as a consequence of thermal motion (phonons), while electrons hop from base to base. Trapping of the polaron by water leads to the chemical damage of the DNA. Students who participate in this research will learn a number of experimental techniques; the learning will be enhanced by collaborations with other scientists with special instrumentation and expertise.