MRI: Acquisition of Equipment to Study Biological Interactions

获得重大研究仪器(MRI)项目的这一奖项后，来自拉斐特学院的Yvonne M.Gindt和她的同事H.David Husic、William H.Miles和Jennifer L.Rutherford将获得一台等温滴定热量计(ITC)以及一台停流混合器和光谱仪。它们将用于各种项目，包括：1)绘制紫外线损伤的DNA与光解酶和VcCry1的结合图，VcCry1是利用蓝光修复DNA的酶；2)测量DNA与光解酶的结合动力学；3)碳酸酐酶的研究，这是一种提高二氧化碳光合作用效率的酶；4)测量伽马-羟基丁烯内酯的环链互变异构化动力学；和5)测量两个工业上重要的反应，非低温锂反应和钯催化的交叉偶联反应的动力学，以阐明反应的机理细节。恒温滴定量热法用于确定化学反应的热力学性质，或通过测量物质混合(滴定)时的温度变化来确定小分子与其他物种的结合。停流装置同样用于快速混合和使用光谱技术监测后续变化，以观察反应的进展。这些变化提供了对正在发生的潜在微观过程的洞察，例如反应中释放的能量或两个物种之间的结合强度或反应速度。这些仪器将用于本科生的研究和实验室课程。这些设备还将加强拉斐特学院和蒙特克莱尔州立大学之间的现有合作，招收大量代表不足的学生。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Yvonne M. Gindt and her colleagues H. David Husic, William H. Miles and Jennifer L. Rutherford at Lafayette College will acquire an isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC) and a stopped flow mixer and spectrometer. They will be used in a variety of projects including: 1) mapping the binding of UV-damaged DNA to photolyase and VcCry1, enzymes that repair DNA using blue-light; 2) measuring the kinetics of DNA binding to photolyase; 3) studies of carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme which enhances the efficiency for carbon dioxide utilization for photosynthesis; 4) measurement of the kinetics of the ring-chain tautomerism of gamma-hydroxybutenolides; and 5) measurement of the kinetics of two industrially important reactions, non-cryogenic lithiations and palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, to elucidate mechanistic details of the reactions.Isothermal titration calorimetry is used to determine thermodynamic properties of chemical reactions, or of the binding of small molecules to other species by measuring temperature changes when substances are mixed (titrated). A stopped-flow apparatus is similarly used for rapid mixing and monitoring of subsequent changes using spectroscopic techniques to observe the progress of a reaction. These changes provide insight on the underlying microscopic processes that are occurring, such as the energy released in a reaction or the strength of the binding between two species or the speed of a reaction. The instruments will be used in research and laboratory classes by undergraduate students. The equipment will also strengthen existing collaborations between Lafayette College and Montclair State University with a substantial enrollment of underrepresented students.