Bio(in)organic Chemistry of Reactive Sulfur and Selenium Species

通过这一奖项，化学部生命过程化学计划资助俄勒冈大学的Michael Pluth博士研究与生物相关的活性硫和硒化合物。这些化合物在生物系统中扮演着重要的角色，但在许多情况下，支持其生物学功能的这些化合物的潜在化学和反应活性仍不清楚。普卢斯博士使用实验室为此目的合成的相对简单的含硫模型化合物来研究这种复杂的化学物质。此外，拟议的实验还探索了新的硫化合物和相关的硒化合物的反应性之间的异同。这项研究是由研究生和本科生实施的，他们获得了在21世纪STEM职业生涯中有用的生物有机和生物无机化学的知识和技能。更广泛的教育影响集中在为中学生设计基于动手的实验室实验，并提高学生对负实验结果在指导未来科学研究领域设计的重要性的认识。本研究项目调查与生物系统相关的活性硫和硒物种的储存、信号和作用的基础化学。具体地说，这项工作探索了区分过硫化物信号和硫化氢释放的化学机制，并扩大了对未调查的硫磺来源生物可利用性的研究。在与相关活性硒物种建立联系的基础上，正在开发允许调节生物硒氢化物池的小分子。从这些调查中获得的信息有望阐明生物系统中一系列氧化态的活性硫和硒物种之间的联系和相互作用。从长远来看，这些研究中开发的工具有可能帮助阐明小分子还原硫化物、硫化氢(硫化氢)和硫化氢(硒氢化物)及其氧化对应物在生物通信和信号传递中所起的一些关键作用。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Dr. Michael Pluth from the University of Oregon to investigate biologically-relevant reactive sulfur and selenium compounds. These compounds play important roles in biological systems, but in many cases the underlying chemistry and reactivity of these compounds that supports their biological function remains unclear. Dr. Pluth investigates this complex chemistry using relatively simple sulfur-containing model compounds synthesized for this purpose in his laboratory. In addition, the proposed experiments probe differences and similarities between the reactivity of the new sulfur compounds and related, selenium compounds. The research is implemented by graduate and undergraduate students who gain knowledge and skills of bioorganic and bioinorganic chemistry useful in STEM careers in the 21st century. An educational broader impact focuses on the design of hands-on laboratory-based experiments for middle school students and on raising the awareness of the students of the importance of negative experimental results in guiding the design of future areas of scientific investigation.This research project investigates the fundamental chemistry associated with the storage, signaling, and action of reactive sulfur and selenium species relevant to biological system. Specifically, the work probes the chemical mechanisms that differentiate persulfide signaling and hydrogen sulfide release and expands studies on the bioavailability of uninvestigated sulfane sulfur sources. Building on connections to related reactive selenium species, small molecules that allow the modulation of biological hydrogen selenide pools are being developed. Information gained from these investigations is expected to shed light on the connections and interactions among reactive sulfur and selenium species across a range of oxidation states in biological systems. In the longer term, the tools developed in these studies have the potential to help elucidate some of the key roles that the small molecule reduced chalcogenides, H2S (hydrogen sulfide) and H2Se (hydrogen selenide)and their oxidized counterparts play in biological communication and signaling.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.