Meiling Xu (Class of ’19)
Biochemical Characterization of a Multifunctional Mononuclear Nonheme Iron Enzyme (PtlD) in Neopentalenoketolactone Biosynthesis Pentalenolactone is a microbial sesquiterpenoid with antibiotic activity. Its biosynthetic pathway was elucidated by a combination of genetic and biochemical characterizations of all genes involved. For the related neopentalenoketolactone biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces avermitilis, an α-ketoglutarate-dependent mononuclear nonheme iron enzyme, PtlD, was […]
Meiling Xu (Class of ’19) and Melissa Quill (Class of ’19)
Mechanistic Studies of a Nonheme Iron Enzyme OvoA in Ovothiol Biosynthesis Using a Tyrosine Analogue, 2-Amino-3-(4-hydroxy-3-(methoxyl) phenyl) Propanoic Acid (MeOTyr) Ovothiols are thiol-histidines that play important roles in protecting cells against oxidative stresses. Because of challenges faced in their chemical synthesis, biosynthesis provides an alternative option. In ovothiol biosynthesis, a nonheme iron enzyme (OvoA) catalyzes […]
Brian Stankus (Class of ’13)
Effective and Inexpensive HPLC Analogue for First-Year Students: Buret Chromatography of Food Dyes in Drinks Chromatography is a ubiquitous technique in analytical chemistry, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the industry standard for quantitation of components in solution mixtures. However, demonstrating the principles of liquid chromatography to undergraduates via HPLC-based experiments often proves ineffective because […]
Larisa Kagermazova (Class of ’16), Yuekun Liu (Class of ’18), Milad Babaei (Class of ’21)
A Central Region of NF-κB Essential Modulator Is Required for IKKβ-Induced Conformational Change and for Signal Propagation NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO) regulates NF-κB signaling by acting as a scaffold for the kinase IKKβ to direct its activity toward the NF-κB inhibitor, IκBα. Here, we show that a highly conserved central region of NEMO termed the […]
Emily Norwine (Class of ’18)
Dual oxidase/oxygenase reactivity and resonance Raman spectra of {Cu3O2} moiety with perfluoro-t-butoxide ligands A Cu(I) fully fluorinated O-donor monodentate alkoxide complex, K[Cu(OC4F9)2], was previously shown to form a trinuclear copper–dioxygen species with a {Cu3(μ3-O)2} core, TOC4F9, upon reactivity with O2 at low temperature. Herein is reported a significantly expanded kinetic and mechanistic study of TOC4F9 formation using stopped-flow spectroscopy. […]
Linda Zuckerman (Class of ’20)
Heterobimetallic {PtMn} and {PtFe} lantern complexes with exceptionally long metallophilic contacts A new series of heterobimetallic lantern complexes, [PtM(SAc)4(pySMe)] (M = Mn (1), Fe (2), Co (3), Ni (4), Zn (5)), as well as additions to the previously reported series, [PtM(SAc)4(pyNH2)] (M = Mn (6), Fe (7)), have been synthesized and thoroughly characterized. Notably, compounds 1 and 6 are the first crystallographically characterized, […]