Proton coupled electron transfer and beta hairpin maquettes: Biomimetic prototypes for artificial energy conversion

通过这个奖项，生命过程化学项目和MPS多学科活动办公室支持佐治亚理工学院Bridgette Barry教授的研究。Barry小组将设计和组装仿生肽结构，用于光驱动能量转换。质子耦合电子转移（PCET）反应在多种重要的生物过程中起着至关重要的作用，包括光合作用、呼吸作用、DNA合成和修复以及前列腺素合成。巴里小组试图组装纳米级的、基于肽的装置，它可以进行类似的反应。这些模型（或模型）将提供水溶性、稳定的氧化还原剂，具有可调的氧化还原电位、动力学和电荷转移的方向控制。这些模型研究旨在产生与人工能量转换和酶催化相关的基本新见解。这些研究的广泛科学目标是提高我们对质子耦合电子转移的理解。这项工作具有转化意义，即纳米级原型肽的构建具有长期潜力，可用于人造太阳能转换，纳米线，二极管和燃料电池。这些活动对教育的广泛影响在于其内在的跨学科培训环境，该环境以生物学为线索，但寻求使用肽化学和生物物理化学的结合来开发基于极简肽的系统，以阐明PCET的基本方面。巴里教授将继续努力提供一个环境，促进扩大代表性不足群体的科学参与。

With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes program and the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities supports the research of Professor Bridgette Barry of Georgia Institute of Technology. The Barry group will design and assemble bio-inspired, peptide constructs for light-driven energy conversion. Proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions are critical in a variety of important biological processes, including photosynthesis, respiration, DNA synthesis and repair, and prostaglandin synthesis. The Barry group seeks to assemble nanoscale, peptide-based devices, which can carry out similar reactions. These maquettes (or models) will provide water-soluble, stable redox agents with tunable redox potentials, kinetics, and directional control of charge transfer. These model studies are designed to generate fundamental new insights relevant to artificial energy conversion, and enzymatic catalysis.The broad scientific goal of these studies is to improve our understanding of proton coupled electron transfer. There are translational implications of the work, i.e. the construction of nanoscale prototype peptides has the long term potential to lead to manmade devices, to be used in artificial solar energy conversion, nanowires, diodes, and fuel cells. The educational broader impact of these activities lies in an inherently interdisciplinary training environment that takes its cues from biology, but seeks to use a combination of peptide chemistry and biophysical chemistry to develop minimalist peptide-based systems to elucidate fundamental aspects of PCET. Professor Barry will continue to strive to provide an environment that promotes broadening the scientific participation of underrepresented groups.