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Chemistry

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2023

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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Mutational Analysis Of The Nitrogenase Carbon Monoxide Protective Protein Cown Reveals That A Conserved C‑Terminal Glutamic Acid Residue Is Necessary For Its Activity, Dustin L. Willard, Joshuah J. Arellano, Mitch Underdahl, Terrence M. Lee, Avinash S. Ramaswamy, Gabriella Fumes, Agatha Kliman, Emily Y. Wong, Cedric P. Owens Dec 2023

Mutational Analysis Of The Nitrogenase Carbon Monoxide Protective Protein Cown Reveals That A Conserved C‑Terminal Glutamic Acid Residue Is Necessary For Its Activity, Dustin L. Willard, Joshuah J. Arellano, Mitch Underdahl, Terrence M. Lee, Avinash S. Ramaswamy, Gabriella Fumes, Agatha Kliman, Emily Y. Wong, Cedric P. Owens

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Nitrogenase is the only enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of nitrogen gas into ammonia. Nitrogenase is tightly inhibited by the environmental gas carbon monoxide (CO). Many nitrogen fixing bacteria protect nitrogenase from CO inhibition using the protective protein CowN. This work demonstrates that a conserved glutamic acid residue near the C-terminus of Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus CowN is necessary for its function. Mutation of the glutamic acid residue abolishes both CowN’s protection against CO inhibition and the ability of CowN to bind to nitrogenase. In contrast, a conserved C-terminal cysteine residue is not important for CO protection by CowN. Overall, this work …


Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Method Development For The Determination Of Β–Defensins In Bovine Milk, Elisha Ogbebor Dec 2023

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Method Development For The Determination Of Β–Defensins In Bovine Milk, Elisha Ogbebor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Bovine mastitis is caused by a wide range of pathogens which results in a substantial economic loss for the dairy cattle livestock industry. β-defensins are a part of the innate immune system and act as the first line of defense against mastitis in bovine. β-defensins (~6- 10kDa) are antimicrobial peptides that contain about 28 to 67 amino acids, the presence of six cysteine residues results in their three disulfide bonds and a β-sheet structure. A few β- defensins have been identified in cows based on the site of occurrence and time of expression in tissue, but not in milk. A …


Relation Between Halogen Bond Strength And Ir And Nmr Spectroscopic Markers, Akhtam Amonov, Steve Scheiner Nov 2023

Relation Between Halogen Bond Strength And Ir And Nmr Spectroscopic Markers, Akhtam Amonov, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The relationship between the strength of a halogen bond (XB) and various IR and NMR spectroscopic quantities is assessed through DFT calculations. Three different Lewis acids place a Br or I atom on a phenyl ring; each is paired with a collection of N and O bases of varying electron donor power. The weakest of the XBs display a C–X bond contraction coupled with a blue shift in the associated frequency, whereas the reverse trends occur for the stronger bonds. The best correlations with the XB interaction energy are observed with the NMR shielding of the C atom directly bonded …


University Of Arkansas, Chemistry And Biochemistry Department Graduate Student Publications, 2018- November 2023. 39p., Jeremy Smith, Lutishoor Salisbury Nov 2023

University Of Arkansas, Chemistry And Biochemistry Department Graduate Student Publications, 2018- November 2023. 39p., Jeremy Smith, Lutishoor Salisbury

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report provides a compilation of the research publications by the Chemistry and Biochemistry (CHBC) Graduate students for the period: 2018-November 2023. It includes publications by the CHBC graduates and those where a CHBC faculty was the main advisor. It includes a summary of the research. The listing is organized according to type of publications within specific years.


University Of Arkansas, Chemistry And Biochemistry Department Research Publications, 2014- November 2023. 107p., Jeremy Smith, Lutishoor Salisbury Nov 2023

University Of Arkansas, Chemistry And Biochemistry Department Research Publications, 2014- November 2023. 107p., Jeremy Smith, Lutishoor Salisbury

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report provides a compilation of the research publications by the Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty for the period: 2014 - November 2023. The information was gathered from major databases in science and technology including Web of Science, SciFinder, Reaxys, PubMed, IEEE Explore and Engineering Index. At least one author in each of the publications has the CHBC department as its affiliation. It includes a table summarizing the research. The listing is organized according to type of publications within specific years.


Substrate Specificity In Abc Transporters Using The E. Coli Methionine Import System, John H. Guardado Oct 2023

Substrate Specificity In Abc Transporters Using The E. Coli Methionine Import System, John H. Guardado

Featured Student Work

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters use the energy of ATP to move substrates across membranes against a concentration gradient. The role of ABC transporters is crucial in several essential cellular functions and mutations in ABC transporters in humans have been linked to several conditions, including cystic fibrosis, liver disease, and diabetes. Despite their central roles in homeostasis, the mechanism of ABC transporters remains poorly understood. Our research is focused on studying an ABC importer in E. coli, as a model system, to examine the mechanism of substrate specificity and transport. The bacterial methionine import system consists of a membrane-embedded transporter, MetNI, …


Computational Investigation Of Mononuclear Iron Water Oxidation Catalyst Design, Kristal Stevens, Emily Jarvis Oct 2023

Computational Investigation Of Mononuclear Iron Water Oxidation Catalyst Design, Kristal Stevens, Emily Jarvis

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Works

Hydrogen production from non-carbon sources is an essential component of clean and sustainable technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fuels. Water oxidation, which splits water molecules into hydrogen (protons) and molecular oxygen, is a thermodynamically challenging, multistep reaction achieved in photosynthetic organisms via photocatalysis by the Oxygen Evolving Complex (OEC) of Photosystem II. Mononuclear water oxidation catalysts that aim to mimic nature typically rely on heavy, rare metals such as ruthenium and iridium. Replacing these metals with iron is particularly appealing because it is abundant, benign, and inexpensive. We use density functional theory to characterize the catalytic ability of …


Blood Coagulation Factor Ix: Purification, Activation, Crystallization, Juliet Mcgill Oct 2023

Blood Coagulation Factor Ix: Purification, Activation, Crystallization, Juliet Mcgill

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper presents readers with an optimized procedure for the purification, activation, and crystallization of selected blood coagulation Factor IX double mutant (FIX_2). Through the completion of this work, we aim to enhance future biochemical and structural studies by providing an easier means for the FIX_2 production, in order to increase understanding of the protein’s function within the blood coagulation cascade. The initiation of the blood coagulation cascade is brought on by activation of inactive Factor VIII (FVIII) protein though contact with tissue factor, the FVIII protein then binds to an activated platelet surface where it must wait for its …


Utilizing Low-Cost Sensors To Monitor Indoor Air Quality In Mongolian Gers, Callum Flowerday, Jaron C. Hansen, Phil Lundrigan, Christopher Kitras Aug 2023

Utilizing Low-Cost Sensors To Monitor Indoor Air Quality In Mongolian Gers, Callum Flowerday, Jaron C. Hansen, Phil Lundrigan, Christopher Kitras

Faculty Publications

Air quality has important climate and health effects. There is a need, therefore, to monitor air quality both indoors and outdoors. Methods of measuring air quality should be cost-effective if they are to be used widely, and one such method is low-cost sensors (LCS). This study reports on the use of LCSs in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia to measure PM2.5 concentrations inside yurts or “gers”. Some of these gers were part of a non-government agency (NGO) initiative to improve insulating properties of these housing structures. The goal of the NGO was to decrease particulate emissions inside the gers; a secondary result …


Broadband Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (Bbceas) Coupled With An Interferometer For On-Band And Off-Band Detection Of Glyoxal, Callum Flowerday, Jaron Hansen, Ryan Thalman Aug 2023

Broadband Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (Bbceas) Coupled With An Interferometer For On-Band And Off-Band Detection Of Glyoxal, Callum Flowerday, Jaron Hansen, Ryan Thalman

ScholarsArchive Data

These data are the raw data from the BBCEAS. The "data_" files are the PMT data and the "DualDetection_08_02_2023" files are the spectrograph data. The PMT data are found in column 7 of the sheet. Column 1 is the time stamp.


Rural Science Teachers Social Network Analysis Matrices, Rebecca L. Sansom, Tracy Poulsen Aug 2023

Rural Science Teachers Social Network Analysis Matrices, Rebecca L. Sansom, Tracy Poulsen

ScholarsArchive Data

These are the social network matrices for our study of rural science teachers. Each matrix is located on a separate tab on the spreadsheet.


C···O And Si···O Tetrel Bonds: Substituent Effects And Transfer Of The Sif3 Group, Zhihao Niu, Qiaozhuo Wu, Qingzhong Li, Steve Scheiner Jul 2023

C···O And Si···O Tetrel Bonds: Substituent Effects And Transfer Of The Sif3 Group, Zhihao Niu, Qiaozhuo Wu, Qingzhong Li, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The tetrel bond (TB) between 1,2-benzisothiazol-3-one-2-TF3-1,1-dioxide (T = C, Si) and the O atom of pyridine-1-oxide (PO) and its derivatives (PO-X, X = H, NO2, CN, F, CH3, OH, OCH3, NH2, and Li) is examined by quantum chemical means. The Si···O TB is quite strong, with interaction energies approaching a maximum of nearly 70 kcal/mol, while the C···O TB is an order of magnitude weaker, with interaction energies between 2.0 and 2.6 kcal/mol. An electron-withdrawing substituent on the Lewis base weakens this TB, while an electron-donating group has the opposite …


Amyloid-Beta Protein Concentration Dependence Of Reversible Aggregation Using Gold Colloid Particles, Renee Spencer, Lila Kocieniewski, Bryan Martinez, Kazushige Yokoyama Jul 2023

Amyloid-Beta Protein Concentration Dependence Of Reversible Aggregation Using Gold Colloid Particles, Renee Spencer, Lila Kocieniewski, Bryan Martinez, Kazushige Yokoyama

McNair Scholars Program

Although Alzheimer’s and COVID-19 are different diseases, the commonality between them is during the process of them developing in a person by fibrillogenesis. The product of fibrillogenesis results in the development of these diseases. We study the first stage of fibrillogenesis where the amyloid-beta peptide monomers are assembled into an oligomer. We want to isolate this oligomer using gold colloids because this step can be reversed. Utilizing gold colloids allows us to freeze fibrillogenesis in the first step by folding and unfolding the protein repeatedly through a series of pH changes from 4 or below to 10 or higher. At …


Raw Diffraction Data For 1tel-Aa-Vwa (Sumo), Wwpdb Id: 7n1o, Moriah H. Mathis, Braydan D. Bezzant, Diana T. Ramírez, Supeshala D. Nawarathnage, Tzanko I. Doukov, James Moody Jun 2023

Raw Diffraction Data For 1tel-Aa-Vwa (Sumo), Wwpdb Id: 7n1o, Moriah H. Mathis, Braydan D. Bezzant, Diana T. Ramírez, Supeshala D. Nawarathnage, Tzanko I. Doukov, James Moody

ScholarsArchive Data

This X-ray diffraction dataset was collected on October 21Oct2020 at SSRL Beamline BL9-2. The crystal was of Batch 1 1TEL-AA-vWa (SUMO) The solved structure used frames 1-999 and has been deposited in the wwPDB under the PDB ID 7N1O. This data can be readily processed using XDS, AutoProc, CCP4, HKL2000/3000, or other crystallographic X-ray diffraction data processing software. The files have a human-readable header but are otherwise binary.


Raw Diffraction Data For 3tel-Hlx-Darpin (Sumo), Wwpdb Id: 7n2b, Supeshala D. Nawarathnage, Parag Laljibhai Gajjar, Derick R. Bunn, Cameron Stewart, Tzanko I. Doukov, James Moody Jun 2023

Raw Diffraction Data For 3tel-Hlx-Darpin (Sumo), Wwpdb Id: 7n2b, Supeshala D. Nawarathnage, Parag Laljibhai Gajjar, Derick R. Bunn, Cameron Stewart, Tzanko I. Doukov, James Moody

ScholarsArchive Data

This X-ray diffraction dataset was collected on October 21Oct2020 at SSRL Beamline BL9-2. The crystal was of 3TEL-hlx-DARPin (SUMO) The solved structure used frames 1-1799 and has been deposited in the wwPDB under the PDB ID 7N2B. This data can be readily processed using XDS, AutoProc, CCP4, HKL2000/3000, or other crystallographic X-ray diffraction data processing software. The files have a human-readable header but are otherwise binary.


Mitocans Induce Lipid Flip-Flop And Permeabilize The Membrane To Signal Apoptosis, Stuart R. Castillo, Michael H.L. Nguyen, Mitchell Dipasquale, Elizabeth G. Kelley, Drew Marquardt Jun 2023

Mitocans Induce Lipid Flip-Flop And Permeabilize The Membrane To Signal Apoptosis, Stuart R. Castillo, Michael H.L. Nguyen, Mitchell Dipasquale, Elizabeth G. Kelley, Drew Marquardt

Chemistry and Biochemistry Publications

Pancratistatin (PST) and narciclasine (NRC) are natural therapeutic agents that exhibit specificity toward the mitochondria of cancerous cells and initiate apoptosis. Unlike traditional cancer therapeutic agents, PST and NRC are effective, targeted, and have limited adverse effects on neighboring healthy, noncancerous cells. Currently, the mechanistic pathway of action for PST and NRC remains elusive, which in part inhibits PST and NRC from becoming efficacious therapeutic alternatives. Herein, we use neutron and x-ray scattering in combination with calcein leakage assays to characterize the effects of PST, NRC, and tamoxifen (TAM) on a biomimetic model membrane. We report an increase in lipid …


Boron Neutron Capture Therapy In The New Age Of Accelerator-Based Neutron Production And Preliminary Progress In Canada, Dominik Dziura, Sana Tabbassum, Amanda Macneil, Dalini D. Maharaj, Robert Laxdal, Oliver Kester, Ming Pan, Hiroaki Kumada, Drew Marquardt Jun 2023

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy In The New Age Of Accelerator-Based Neutron Production And Preliminary Progress In Canada, Dominik Dziura, Sana Tabbassum, Amanda Macneil, Dalini D. Maharaj, Robert Laxdal, Oliver Kester, Ming Pan, Hiroaki Kumada, Drew Marquardt

Chemistry and Biochemistry Publications

Each year more than 3000 Canadians are diagnosed with brain cancers like glioblastoma multiforme or recurrent head and neck cancers, which are difficult to treat with conventional radiotherapy techniques. One of the most clinically promising treatments for these cancers is boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). This procedure involves selectively introducing a boron delivery agent into tumor cells and irradiating them with a neutron beam, which kills the cancer cells due to the high-linear energy transfer radiation produced by the 10B(n,α)7Li capture reaction. The theory of BNCT has been around for a long time since 1936, but has historically been limited …


Metals And Metal Complexes In Diseases With A Focus On Covid-19: Facts And Opinions, Agnieszka Ścibior, Manuel Aureliano, Alvin A. Holder, Juan Llopis Jun 2023

Metals And Metal Complexes In Diseases With A Focus On Covid-19: Facts And Opinions, Agnieszka Ścibior, Manuel Aureliano, Alvin A. Holder, Juan Llopis

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

In the present Special Issue on “Metals and Metal Complexes in Diseases with a Focus on COVID-19: Facts and Opinions”, an attempt has been made to include reports updating our knowledge of elements considered to be potential candidates for therapeutic applications and certain metal-containing species, which are extensively being examined towards their potential biomedical use due to their specific physicochemical properties. The Special Issue compiles data on the role of metals in COVID-19 and focuses on other illnesses and biological processes that affect metal metabolism. It consists of eight manuscripts, including five review articles and three original research papers (Figure …


Synthesis And Study Of High-Spin Stable Organic Radicals For Electrical Conductors And Mannosamine Nitroxide For Mri Contrast Agents, Shuyang Zhang Jun 2023

Synthesis And Study Of High-Spin Stable Organic Radicals For Electrical Conductors And Mannosamine Nitroxide For Mri Contrast Agents, Shuyang Zhang

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the first project, we describe the synthesis of an ambient stable high spin organic diradical 4 based on the Blatter moiety. The high-spin (S = 1) organic diradical 4, which consists of two Blatter radical moieties in a conjugated structure, exhibits a nearly exclusive population (88%) on triplet ground state at room temperature as a consequence of a large single-triplet energy gap (ΔEST = 0.5 kcal/mol). The target diradical molecule is synthesized over five steps with structural confirmation by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows the onset of decomposition at ~264 oC, indicating the diradical molecule has …


Quantum Chemistry–Machine Learning Approach For Predicting Properties Of Lewis Acid–Lewis Base Adducts, Hieu Huynh, Thomas J. Kelly, Linh Vu, Tung Hoang, Phuc An Nguyen, Tu C. Le, Emily Jarvis, Hung Phan May 2023

Quantum Chemistry–Machine Learning Approach For Predicting Properties Of Lewis Acid–Lewis Base Adducts, Hieu Huynh, Thomas J. Kelly, Linh Vu, Tung Hoang, Phuc An Nguyen, Tu C. Le, Emily Jarvis, Hung Phan

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Works

Synthetic design allowing predictive control of charge transfer and other optoelectronic properties of Lewis acid adducts remains elusive. This challenge must be addressed through complementary methods combining experimental with computational insights from first principles. Ab initio calculations for optoelectronic properties can be computationally expensive and less straightforward than those sufficient for simple ground-state properties, especially for adducts of large conjugated molecules and Lewis acids. In this contribution, we show that machine learning (ML) can accurately predict density functional theory (DFT)-calculated charge transfer and even properties associated with excited states of adducts from readily obtained molecular descriptors. Seven ML models, built …


Modeling Accuracy Matters: Aligning Molecular Dynamics With 2d Nmr Derived Noe Restraints, Milan Patel May 2023

Modeling Accuracy Matters: Aligning Molecular Dynamics With 2d Nmr Derived Noe Restraints, Milan Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Among structural biology techniques, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) provides a holistic view of structure that is close to protein structure in situ. Namely, NMR imaging allows for the solution state of the protein to be observed, derived from Nuclear Overhauser Effect restraints (NOEs). NOEs are a distance range in which hydrogen pairs are observed to stay within range of, and therefore experimental data which computational models can be compared against. To that end, we investigated the effects of adding the NOE restraints as distance restraints in Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations on the 24 residue HP24stab derived villin headpiece subdomain to …


The Role Of Sars-Cov-2 Orf8 Protein Arks Motif On Novobiocin Binding, Si Chun Chiu, My T. Nguyen Apr 2023

The Role Of Sars-Cov-2 Orf8 Protein Arks Motif On Novobiocin Binding, Si Chun Chiu, My T. Nguyen

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

The discovery of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the COVID-19 pandemic required scientists to develop medical solutions to reduce infectivity, severity of symptoms, and death. Although vaccines and drugs provided urgent assistance, the need to continue developing better drugs is necessary long term, and understanding the structure of the virus and finding potential inhibitors would prove vital to discovering solutions to this worldwide health problem. This experimental project focuses on targeting the unique accessory protein, Open Reading Frame 8 (ORF8) in SARS-CoV-2 through studying its interactions with a repurposable drug, novobiocin. Importantly, ORF8 specializes in helping evade immune system checks by …


Investigating The Effect Of Medium Chain Triglycerides On The Elasticity Of Pulmonary Surfactant, Maksymilian Dziura, Stuart R. Castillo, Mitchell Dipasquale, Omotayo Gbadamosi, Piotr Zolnierczuk, Michihiro Nagao, Elizabeth G. Kelley, Drew Marquardt Apr 2023

Investigating The Effect Of Medium Chain Triglycerides On The Elasticity Of Pulmonary Surfactant, Maksymilian Dziura, Stuart R. Castillo, Mitchell Dipasquale, Omotayo Gbadamosi, Piotr Zolnierczuk, Michihiro Nagao, Elizabeth G. Kelley, Drew Marquardt

Chemistry and Biochemistry Publications

In recent years, vaping has increased in both popularity and ease of access. This has led to an outbreak of a relatively new condition known as e-cigarette/vaping-associated lung injury (EVALI). This injury can be caused by physical interactions between the pulmonary surfactant (PS) in the lungs and toxins typically found in vaping solutions, such as medium chain triglycerides (MCT). MCT has been largely used as a carrier agent within many cannabis products commercially available on the market. Pulmonary surfactant ensures proper respiration by maintaining low surface tensions and interface stability throughout each respiratory cycle. Therefore, any impediments to this system …


Investigation Of Cofactor Activities Of Endothelial Microparticle- Thrombomodulin With Liposomal Surrogate, Valentinas Gruzdys, Lin Wang, Dan Wang, Rachel Huang, Xue-Long Sun Apr 2023

Investigation Of Cofactor Activities Of Endothelial Microparticle- Thrombomodulin With Liposomal Surrogate, Valentinas Gruzdys, Lin Wang, Dan Wang, Rachel Huang, Xue-Long Sun

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Thrombomodulin (TM) is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein mainly expressed on the endothelial cells, where it binds thrombin to form the thrombin-TM complex that can activate protein C and thrombin-activable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) and induce anticoagulant and anti-fibrinolytic reactions, respec-tively. Cell activation and injury often sheds microparticles that contain membrane TM, which circulate in biofluids like blood. However, the biological function of circulating microparticle-TM is still unknown even though it has been recognized as a biomarker of endothelial cell injury and damage. In comparison with cell membrane, different phospholipids are exposed on the microparticle surface due to cell membrane "flip-flop"upon …


Traffic Lights For Catalysis: Stimuli-Responsive Molecular And Extended Catalytic Systems, Grace C. Thaggard, Johanna Haimeri, Roland A. Fischer Prof. Dr., Kyoung Chul Park, Natalia B. Shustova Prof. Dr. Mar 2023

Traffic Lights For Catalysis: Stimuli-Responsive Molecular And Extended Catalytic Systems, Grace C. Thaggard, Johanna Haimeri, Roland A. Fischer Prof. Dr., Kyoung Chul Park, Natalia B. Shustova Prof. Dr.

Faculty Publications

The advances made in the field of stimuli-responsive catalysis during the last five years with a focus on the novel recently-emerged directions and applications have been surveyed. Metal-free catalysts and organometallic complexes, as well as biomimetic systems and extended structures, which display switchable catalytic activity for a variety of organic transformations, are discussed. Light-activated systems comprised of photochromic molecules capable of modulating reaction rate, yield, or enantioselectivity based on geometric and electronic changes associated with photoisomerization are the focus of the detailed discussion. Alternative stimuli, including pH and temperature, which could be applied either alone or in combination with light, …


Stabilizing G-Quadruplex Dna And Rna Structures With Ionic Liquids, Timothy Vaden Mar 2023

Stabilizing G-Quadruplex Dna And Rna Structures With Ionic Liquids, Timothy Vaden

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Stabilizing DNA and RNA for long-term room-temperature storage is important for many biotechnological applications including oncology pharmaceuticals and mRNA-based vaccines (e.g. Covid vaccines). This poster shows that ionic liquids can improve the thermal stability of G-quadruplex DNA and RNA structures, and motivates further studies of ionic liquid-based materials for DNA / RNA stabilization.


Damped Oscillating Phosphoryl Transfer Reaction In The Cyanobacterial Circadian Clock, Hye In Jang, Pyonghwa Kim, Yongick Kim Mar 2023

Damped Oscillating Phosphoryl Transfer Reaction In The Cyanobacterial Circadian Clock, Hye In Jang, Pyonghwa Kim, Yongick Kim

Chemistry Faculty Research

Most organisms have circadian clocks to ensure the metabolic cycle to resonate with the rhythmic environmental changes without “damping,” or losing robustness. Cyanobacteria is the oldest and simplest form of life that is known to harbor this biological intricacy. Its KaiABC-based central oscillator proteins can be reconstituted inside a test tube, and the post-translational modification cycle occurs with 24 h periodicity. KaiC’s two major phosphorylation sites, Ser-431 and Thr-432, become phosphorylated and dephosphorylated by interacting with KaiA and KaiB, respectively. Here, we mutate Thr-432 into Ser to find the oscillatory phosphoryl transfer reaction damps. Previously, this mutant KaiC was reported …


In Silico Binding Of 2-Aminocyclobutanones To Sars-Cov-2 Nsp13 Helicase And Demonstration Of Antiviral Activity, Thahani S. Habeeb Mohammad, Yash Gupta, Cory T. Reidl, Vlad Nicolaescu, Haley Gula, Ravi Durvasula, Prakasha Kempaiah, Daniel P. Becker Ph.D. Mar 2023

In Silico Binding Of 2-Aminocyclobutanones To Sars-Cov-2 Nsp13 Helicase And Demonstration Of Antiviral Activity, Thahani S. Habeeb Mohammad, Yash Gupta, Cory T. Reidl, Vlad Nicolaescu, Haley Gula, Ravi Durvasula, Prakasha Kempaiah, Daniel P. Becker Ph.D.

Chemistry: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The landscape of viral strains and lineages of SARS-CoV-2 keeps changing and is currently dominated by Delta and Omicron variants. Members of the latest Omicron variants, including BA.1, are showing a high level of immune evasion, and Omicron has become a prominent variant circulating globally. In our search for versatile medicinal chemistry scaffolds, we prepared a library of substituted α-aminocyclobutanones from an α-aminocyclobutanone synthon (11). We performed an in silico screen of this actual chemical library as well as other virtual 2-aminocyclobutanone analogs against seven SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural proteins to identify potential drug leads against SARS-CoV-2, and more broadly against coronavirus …


Ultrasound-Assisted Air-Jet Spinning Of Silk Fibroin-Soy Protein Nanofiber Composite Biomaterials., Futian Yang, Fang Wang, Janine Mazahreh, Xiao Hu Feb 2023

Ultrasound-Assisted Air-Jet Spinning Of Silk Fibroin-Soy Protein Nanofiber Composite Biomaterials., Futian Yang, Fang Wang, Janine Mazahreh, Xiao Hu

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Ultrasound utilizes a non-radiation technology that can meet modern standards to gain access to cheap, reliable and sustainable modern energy. Ultrasound technology can be implemented in the field of biomaterials for its exceptional potential in controlling the shape of nanomaterials. This study presents the first example of the production of soy and silk fibroin protein composite nanofibers in various ratios via combining ultrasonic technology with air-spray spinning. Characterization of ultrasonic spun nanofibers was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, water contact angle, water retention, enzymatic …


Bitumen Aging—Laboratory Simulation Methods Used In Practice And Selected Directions Of Research On New Methods, Paweł Czajkowski, Andrzej Przyjazny, Grzegorz Boczkaj Jan 2023

Bitumen Aging—Laboratory Simulation Methods Used In Practice And Selected Directions Of Research On New Methods, Paweł Czajkowski, Andrzej Przyjazny, Grzegorz Boczkaj

Natural Sciences Publications

Changes in the properties of bitumen binders that occur as a result of aging have a huge impact on the durability of products produced from them. In particular, asphalt pavements, which constitute the most common use of petroleum bitumen, are susceptible to damage resulting from the increasing stiffness of the bitumen during its life cycle. Increased stiffness of asphalt pavements reduces the pavement resistance to low-temperature cracks and fatigue cracks, ultimately leading to the loss of their functional properties and the need for road repair. The rate of changes in bitumen properties is influenced by many factors, the most important …