MRI: Acquisition of an X-ray Diffraction Instrument for Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Research and Education in an Undergraduate Setting

该奖项是为了购买一台X射线衍射仪，以取代一台44年之久的仪器。 新的X射线光学器件使密封管X射线系统大大降低了维护要求，成为各种样品X射线研究的可行选择。X射线衍射仪将支持以下领域的研究：1）酶机制和抑制剂设计; 2）结构/功能关系; 3）涉及大分子晶体低温冷却的基本物理过程，这是大分子晶体学的一个关键但知之甚少的方面; 4）使用稳定渗透剂来研究柔性蛋白质的结构，这对结构生物学家来说是困难的目标，但对生物系统来说极其重要; 5）聚烯烃有序无序转变的氧化诱导，这将提高对聚合物材料降解的理解; 6）稀土矿物在溶胶-凝胶中的结晶;以及7）瓦拉瓦拉葡萄种植区土壤层的分析。该仪器将用于跨学科教师和学生的研究，本科生的研究培训和课堂教学。来自西北其他本科院校的研究团队也将使用该系统进行结构/功能研究。该仪器将有助于发展X射线衍射、X射线晶体学和结构生物学的教学实验室。这些教学实验室项目将通过网络出版物和专业会议上的教育介绍向教育/科学界宣传。

This award is for the acquisition of an X-ray diffraction instrument that will replace a 44-yr-old instrument. New X-ray optics have made sealed-tube X-ray systems with dramatically reduced maintenance requirements a viable option for X-ray studies of a wide variety of samples. The X-ray diffraction instrument will support research in the areas of: 1) Enzyme mechanism and inhibitor design; 2) Structure/function relationships; 3) The basic physical processes involved in cryogenic cooling of macromolecular crystals, a critical but poorly understood aspect of macromolecular crystallography; 4) The use of stabilizing osmolytes to study the structures of flexible proteins, which are difficult targets for structural biologists, yet extremely important for biological systems; 5) Oxidative induction of order-disorder transitions in polyolefins, which will improve understanding of degradation of polymeric materials; 6) Crystallization of rare earth minerals in sol-gels; and 7) Analysis of soil horizons in the wine-growing region of Walla Walla. This instrument will be used for interdisciplinary faculty and student research, research training of undergraduate students, and classroom instruction. Research teams from other undergraduate institutions in the Northwest will use also the system for structure/function studies. The instrument will allow development of teaching laboratories in X-ray diffraction, X-ray crystallography and structural biology. These teaching laboratory projects will be publicized to the educational/science community through web publication and educational presentations at professional conferences.