1102 Natural Sciences 2
University of California, Irvine,
California, 92697-2025 ::
phone (949) 824-4097 ::
fax (949) 824-8571
Research Highlights
 | Ribozymes everywhere In a recent Science paper, the Lupták group reports a structure-based search for self-cleaving ribozymes. Chiu-Ho (Judy) Webb, Nathan Riccitelli, Dana Ruminski and Andrej Lupták find that these catalytic RNAs are widely distributed in nature, often in multiple copies and sequence families in a single organism. [ link ] |
 | New Oxidation State of Dinitrogen In a combined synthetic and theoretical effort, yttrium and dysprosium complexes containing the unprecedented N23- radical anion were synthesized and characterized by William J. Evans, Ming Fang, Gael Zucchi, Filipp Furche, and Joseph W. Ziller at UCI Chemistry, and Ryan M. Hoekstra and Jeffrey I. Zink from UCLA. X-ray structures, EPR and Raman spectra and density functional calculations indicate a formal bond order of 1.5, and suggest N23- as a possible intermediate in natural nitrogen fixation. After publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society this work was recently featured in C&EN and Nature Chemistry.[ link ] |
 | Molecular Origami of a Moldy Toxin In the October 22 issue of Nature, the Tsai lab reports the “product template” (PT) domain that is crucial for aflatoxin formation in the molds. Prior to this study, no information is available as to how the moldy fungi can precisely fold a carbon chain to end up with the complicate chemical structure crucial for poisoning our body and cause cancer. The aflatoxin-PT study revealed, for the first time, how PT would fold an incoming linear carbon chain called polyketide to form two aflatoxin rings in an amazing feat of origami, and how this mechanism can also be applied to other moldy toxins.[ link ] |
 | Umpolung Amination In a recent communication to the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Professor Jarvo and graduate student Tim Barker have reported nickel-catalyzed coupling reactions of N-chloroamines with organozinc reagents. A one-pot procedure circumvents the need to isolate the N-chloroamine prior to coupling. [ link ] |
 | Sheding Light on Organometallic Reactions A fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique detects key organometallic complexes in 1 second and at concentrations two orders of magnitude lower than NMR, as developed by Prof. Suzanne Blum's group.[ link ] |
 | 2D IR Spectroscopy and MD Simulation Sensitively Reveals Subtle Differences between Helical Structures On the cover of the |
 | How Short is Too Short? In the July 14 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team led by Professors Stephen White in UCI's Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Douglas Tobias in UCI's Department of Chemistry, and Gunnar von Heijne of Stockholm University report a combined biological, biophysical, and computational investigation of the mechanism of insertion of hydrophobic helical peptides in membranes. They find that helices that are much shorter than the hydrophobic thickness of the membrane can be inserted efficiently, and they establish the biophysical principles that underlie this remarkable result.[ link ] |
 | Characterization of Electrodeposited Gold and Palladium Nanowire Gratings with Optical Diffraction Measurements Nanowires are a class of structures with useful electrical, optical, and mechanical properties that vary significantly from those of the bulk material. Visible light diffraction is a simple and inexpensive optical method that is highly sensitive to the structure of the light scattering medium. Now, Aaron R. Halpern, Naoya Nishi, Jia Wen, Fan Yang, Chengxiang Xiang, Reginald M. Penner, and Robert M. Corn have combined the two by fabricating gold and palladium nanowire arrays and gratings for diffraction experiments. These have potential applications in diffraction-based chemical and biochemical sensing. The cover image shows (left) the process of creating nanowire arrays on a glass substrate via a combined photoresist electrodeposition process, (top right) a 3D schematic of the diffraction experiment, and (bottom right) data obtained from the diffraction experiment.[ link ] |
 | A Biomimetic Modular Polymer with Tough and Adaptive Properties In a recent Communication to the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Professor Zhibin Guan, graduate students Aaron Kushner and Gregory Williams, and undergraduate student John Vossler, reported the first synthetic polymer to possess the advanced mechanical properties found in many natural materials, including good resistance to deformation, high toughness, and adaptive properties such as shape memory. Inspired by skeletal muscle protein titin, this biomimetic modular polymer has many possible applications, including implants, prosthetics, and “smart” materials. This work is highlighted in Nature Chemistry and Chemical and Engineering News. |
 | Spatial Distribution of Nitrate and Nitrite Anions at the Liquid/Vapor Interface of Aqueous Solutions Professor John C. Hemminger and collaborators at the Berlin synchrotron BESSY have used liquid-jet techniques to obtain the x-ray photoelectron spectra of aqueous solutions of nitrate and nitrite salts. Their experiments are published as a communication in JACS. The XPS experiments allow the determination of the nitrate and nitrite concentrations at the liquid/vapor surface and as a function of depth into the aqueous solution. Their results show that both nitrate and nitrite have a preference for bulk solvation in contrast to the surface. Their results compare well with MD simulations. |
 | Proteins and proteomics: life on the surface The May issue of Nature Methods has a technology feature on array based Surface Plasmon Resonance methods that highlights work in Professor Rob Corn’s group. [ link ] |
 | Two Metals Are Better Than One Studies of gold- and palladium-mediated reactions revealed new strategies for aurating and functionalizing alkynes under mild conditions, report Prof. Blum and students Yili Shi and Stephen Ramgren in a recent issue of Organometallics. These reactions demonstrate a new class of reactivity available to dual-metal systems. |
 | A New Strategy for Probing Single Helical Turn Formation In a recent J. Am. Chem. Soc. Communication, Professor Nien-Hui Ge and postdoctoral researcher Hiroaki Maekawa, in collaboration with the Toniolo group in Italy, reported the first observation of vibrational coupling between amide-I/II modes connected through a 310-helical intramolecular C=O•••H-N hydrogen bond. The combination of 2D IR spectroscopy and isotope substitutions with 13C=18O and 15N labels provides a new strategy for probing local peptide conformation, such as the formation of a single helix turn, a key step in protein folding processes.[ link ] |
 | Click to fold: Cycloaddition-Induced Folding of a Polymer into β-Sheets A recent communication to the Angew. Chem. from the Guan group was selected by the editors as a hot paper. In this communication, graduate student Ting-Bin Yu, research associate Jane Z. Bai, and Prof. Zhibin Guan reported the first example of polymerization-induced folding of a polymer into extensive β-sheets. Cu(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition polymerization of a peptide monomer induced folding of the resultant polymer into well-defined β−sheets, which further self-assemble into hierarchical nanofibrils. The Guan group is currently applying this methodology to the synthesis of polymers mimicking spider dragline silk, one of the strongest natural fiber that contains extensive β-sheets.[ link ] |
 | Surface Structure of KIO3 Grown by Heterogeneous Reaction of Ozone with KI(001) Using national facilities at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, graduate Student Matthew Brown of the Hemminger group has studied the surface structure of potassium iodate that is formed by the reaction of ozone with potassium iodide. A combination of surface x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy was used in the study. The reaction of ozone with alkali halides is important to our understanding of the chemistry of sea salt particles and aerosols in the marine troposphere. |
 | Peptide Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles: A Plastic Antibody In a recent communication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, post doctoral student Yu Hoshino and K. J. Shea with Tokyo Institute of Technology collaborators T. Kodama and Y. Okahata reported the first synthesis of plastic antibodies, high affinity and selective polymer nanoparticles for the biotoxin melittin. The nanoparticles were synthesized by an imprinting precipitation polymerization. The binding affinity and size of the MIP NPs are similar to that of natural antibodies. These results are a starting point for the preparation and evaluation of synthetic polymer antibodies for key biomacromolecules. The article is highlighted in Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/). [ link ] |
 | Pulling ions to the edge: Enhanced surface chemistry in chloride-nitrate ion mixtures Collaborative work in the Finlayson-Pitts and Tobias groups reveals a surface enhancement in the photochemistry of sodium chloride-sodium nitrate aerosol mixtures. In a recent hot article in PCCP, their research showed that UV photolysis of aerosols containing both nitrate and chloride ions yields significantly more NO2 than irradiation of pure sodium nitrate aerosols. Molecular dynamics simulations shed light on the experiments showing that the interfacial chloride ions form a double layer with sodium ions, which then attract nitrate ions to the surface. The reduced solvent cage of the near-surface nitrate ions allows for easier escape of photoproducts. The results have implications in coastal urban areas and in the polar regions where sea salt influences the composition of aerosols.[ link ] |
 | Cheating the Diffraction Limit: Electrodeposited Nanowires Patterned by Photolithography The Penner research group describes a new method for preparing ultra-long gold nanowires (1 cm or more in length). In this image, gold nanowires were prepared on glass using lithographically patterned nanowire electrodeposition. A tangle of these nanowires (shown here) was obtained when some of them were released from the glass surface using a stream of water.[ link ] |
 | Microarray methods for protein biomarker detection In a recent article, Prof. Robert Corn and co-workers describe the use of microarrays for the profiling of multiple protein biomarkers in a single experiment with high sensitivity and selectivity. The quantitative assaying of protein biomarkers in easily obtainable biological fluids can be used in the rapid detection and diagnosis of diseases.[ link ] |
 | Critical Size for Intra-Cluster Proton-Transfer from Water to an Anion In a recent Angew. Chemie. Int. Ed. Communication, R. B. Gerber and coworker Yifat Miller, in collaboration with experimental group of Ori Cheshnovsky at Tel Aviv University, showed a first direct demonstration of a critical number of solvent water molecules for proton transfer from water to an anion. Specifically, for n ≤ 2 the form (C6H5NH-)· (H2O) n, is more stable. For n ≥ 3 the acidity of water become sufficient for proton transfer and the stable species is (C6H5NH2)· (OH-)· (H2O) n-1. This work was done in the framework of the AirUCI projects. |
 | Dynamics of proton recombination with NO3- anion in water clusters A recent PCCP cover communication throws light on a recombination of protons and NO3- anion in water clusters. The simulations by R.B. Gerber and Yifat Miller used directly high level ab initio methods (MP2) in the dynamics. The lifetime of the ions is found to be of the order of 1 picosecond. Both H3O + and H5O2+ appear in the course of the process, but the neutralization process always involves H3O+ and not H5O2+.[ link ] |
 | Onset of 310-Helical Secondary Structure Professor Nien-Hui Ge and postdoctoral researcher Hiroaki Maekawa, in collaboration with the Toniolo group in Italy, recently reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society how 2D IR spectra change as the number of residues in a polypeptide increases. The onset of 310-helical secondary structure appears to occur upon the formation of a complete 310-helical turn at the pentapeptide level. The work is an important step in establishing 2D IR spectrum–structure relationship and will provide a useful baseline for studying the helix-coil transition.[ link ] |
 | The Active Ingredient: Oxidative Formation of Aryl Diazenes Prof. Alan Heyduk and graduate student Ryan Zarkesh have reported the synthesis of a bimetallic tantalum imide complex with redox-active ligands. The molecular architecture directs the formation of an N–N double bond and elimination of aryl diazene upon four-electron oxidation of the dimer. The editors of Angew. Chemie have highlighted the report as a Hot Paper for its, "...importance in a rapidly evolving field of high current interest." [ link ] |
 | The Promise of Phage Display: Customized Affinity and Specificity In this months issue of Analytical Chemistry, Greg Weiss and Reg Penner report the creation of biosensors that exploit virus particles - prepared using the methods of phage display - to detect particular target molecules in solution.[ link ] |
 | Seeing is Believing: Single Palladium Complexes Wouldn’t it be incredible to image catalytic reactions at the single molecule level? In order to examine the steps of a mechanism, one would simply look. In a recent issue of Organometallics, Prof. Suzanne A. Blum and coworkers report the single-molecule fluorescence microscopy imaging of individual palladium(II) complexes. These experimental results lay the fundamental groundwork for studying organometallic reaction chemistry at the single-molecule level. |
 | Polyketide ring mystery solved In the April 8, 2008 issue of the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, Prof. Sheryl Tsai and coworkers report the crystal structure and chemical biology of the aromatase/cyclase domain from the aromatic polyketide synthase. Microbes are thought to produce polyketides by first making a long-chain linear polyketone then bending and folding it to produce the polyaromatic molecule. But precisely how they accomplished this feat of origami was a mystery. The UCI researchers showed that the aromatase/cyclase contains a C-shaped cavity perfectly configured for housing a long-chain linear polyketone, and the pocket shape is key to the highly specific first and second ring cyclizations. By subtly changing aspects of the active site they will be able to control the size and shape of the polyketide, resulting in the formation of new drugs. [ link ] |
 | Coupled protein and water dynamics: what a coincidence! In a Communication in the April 9, 2008 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Prof. Doug Tobias and collaborators in Europe report a study of the dynamics of protein molecules and their hydration shells using a combination of neutron scattering experiments with selective deuteration and molecular dynamics simulations. The results firmly establish and explain, for the first time, the direct coupling between soluble protein and water dynamics suggested by many previous experimental and theoretical investigations. [ link ] |
 | Chemistry professors discuss ion effects in Science paper Chemistry professors Doug Tobias and John Hemminger have an invited perspectives paper in the journal Science on Friday, Feb. 29, titled, "The Hofmeister Series: Getting More Specific about Specific Ion Effects." Different types of salt have predictable effects on a wide variety of chemical phenomena. For example, salt solutions containing fluoride ions tend to precipitate proteins, while salt solutions containing iodide ions dissolve them. These "specific ion effects" have been known for more than a century, but their molecular mechanism continues to evade scientists. This Science paper reviews recent progress toward unraveling specific ion effects, including research from the AirUCI Environmental Molecular Sciences Institute.[ link ] |
 | Phosphatase Activation by an Inhibitor Analog The current issue of Chemistry & Biology features an article, highlighted on the journal cover, reporting the design and synthesis of a small molecule that activates protein phophatase-1 (PP-1). The activity of PP-1 is normally controlled by a wide variety of binding proteins, each containing a consensus sequence (RVXF) recognized by a regulatory site on PP-1. Tappan and Chamberlin (pp. 167–174) demonstrate that a small molecule mimic of this regulatory consensus sequence activates PP-1 in two ways, despite the fact that its structure is, paradoxically, an analog of the well-known microcystin family of potent inhibitors.[ link ] |
 | Nanoprecipitation-induced current oscillations in a single nanopore In a recent publication in Nature Nanotechnology, Prof. Craig Martens of the UCI Chemistry Department, Prof. Zuzanna Siwy of the UCI Physics Department, and coworkers show how to induce current oscillations in a single nanopore [Nature Nanotechnology 3, 51 - 57 (2008)]. In strongly soluble salt solutions these systems act as molecular current rectifiers. When traces of sparingly soluble species, such as CaHPO4 are present, the systems undergo an intriguing transformation from DC current flow (a) to quasiperiodic current oscillations (b) when a critical membrane voltage is reached. This transition corresponds to negative differential resistance on the current-voltage (I-V) curve. The authors show how voltage-induced precipitation and re-dissolution inside the nanopore underlie the ion current oscillations. The behavior of these nonlinear systems is very sensitive to experimental conditions. The frequency of oscillation is tunable from a fraction of Hz to tens of Hz. The authors also discuss possible application of these nonlinear oscillating systems to the building a single pore-based chemical sensor. [ link ] |
 | Tubular self-embracing tripeptide superstructures with the same sense of chirality as the folded arms of Foyatier's Spartacus Tripeptides attached to (R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexanes self-assemble into tubular superstructures in which each peptide strand folds over and under the other, reminiscent of Spartacus's folded arms, with the same sense of chirality! Thus is born a new class of non-cyclic "self-embracing" peptides held together by intra- and interstrand H-bonds.[ link ] |
 | Chemistry and Biology of the Aeruginosin Family of Serine Protease Inhibitors Different phyla and different oceans are sources of linear peptides in the aeruginosin family which comprise a central hydroxy- (or dihydroxy-) octahydroindole carboxamide core unit onto which unusual amino acids are appended. The aeruginosins exhibit varying degrees of inhibitory activity against serine proteases, including factor II (thrombin) and factor VIIa of the blood coagulation cascade. In their Review on page 1202 ff., S. Hanessian et al. provide an overview of the chemical and biological properties of the aeruginosins as well as the natural sources of these compounds, their total syntheses, and structure revisions.[ link ] |
 | Polymorphism in Br2 Clathrate Hydrates On the cover of the Journal of Physical Chemistry A is the article reporting polymorphism in bromine clathrate hydrates, discovered by the Janda and Apkarian groups, through micro-Raman spectroscopy on single crystals. One of the first discovered clathrates, Br2-clathrate hydrates have played a central role in our understanding of the stability of clathrates, and more generally, of solid solutions. The stacking of the Archimedean polyhydra of water, through hydrogen bonds, allows for a very large number of ways to tile 3-D space. Yet, not all possible structures are realized. Identifying the units that acquire special stability has been a challenge, which is in good part resolved by the report.[ link ] |
 | Bimetallic Catalysis in the Synthesis of Highly Substituted Olefins In a recent publication in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Professor Blum and graduate students Yili Shi, Sonja Peterson, and Walter Haberaecker show that a gold/palladium bimetallic system catalyzes the synthesis of tri- and tetra-substituted olefins with high stereo- and regiocontrol. The unique reactivity produced by the bimetallic system is consistent with a gold Lewis acid that promotes back bonding of palladium into the alkyne substrate to initiate reactivity. |
 | Spherical, Monodisperse, Functional Bridged Polysilsesquioxane Nanoparticles In one of the most-accessed papers published in Nano Letters, Ken Shea and his graduate student Mariya Khiterer report a general method for the synthesis of uniform functional hybrid nanoparticles. Spherical bridged polysilsesquioxane nanoparticles are prepared utilizing microemulsion technology. The electrochemically active charged nanoparticles are being utilized in solid state electrochromic devices and as carriers for polyanions such as DNA. Nano Letters, 2007, 7, 2684-2687[ link ] |
 | Umpolung Allylation Reactions In one of the most-accessed papers in Organometallics, Professor Jarvo and graduate students Nick Barczak and Robin Grote report umpolung reactions of allylpalladium complexes. Neutral bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands are sufficiently electron donating to impart nucleophilic character to allylpalladium complexes and promote attack on aldehydes. They have also demonstrated that these complexes catalyze allylation reactions, important transformations for natural product synthesis. [ link ] |
 | Novel Cyclophane Catalyst for Valuable Materials A “Holy Grail” in olefin polymerization catalysis field is to discover transition metal catalysts that can efficiently copolymerize polar olefins. In a Communication to J. Amer. Chem. Soc. that is currently in press, Professor Guan and his graduate student Chris Popeney, and former postdoctoral fellow Drexel Camacho, have reported a cyclophane-based Pd(II) complex that is highly efficient in incorporating polar olefins like acrylates. Furthermore, low temperature NMR studies have revealed a unique mechanistic origin for the increased efficiency for polar olefin incorporation. [ link ] |
 | Interfacial Velocity-Dependent Plasmon Damping in Colloidal Metallic Nanoparticles On the cover of the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 111, Apkarian and Corn groups, in collaboration with Newport Corporation report that “the interfacial velocity-induced electrophoretic potential leads to plasmon damping in colloidal nanoparticles”.[ link ] |
 | A New Class of Macrocyclic Receptors In an article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Professor James Nowick and his students report a new class of macrocycles based on iota-peptides. The macrocycles bind guests such as steroids and demonstrate that synthetic peptides containing a few large man-made amino acids can mimic the functions of large proteins.[ link ] |
 | Vibrational Spectroscopy of the Photoactive Yellow Protein (PYP): Theory and Experiment of Intermediates of the Photocycle In an article currently in press in J. Am. Chem. Soc., R. B. Gerber and graduate student Yemi Adesokan, in collaboration with the experimental group of Richard Mathies and co-workers at UC Berkeley, were able to compute with high accuracy vibrational frequencies of the major intermediates of the Photoactive Yellow Protein (PYP) photocycle. The calculations use ab initio potentials and employs an algorithm that goes beyond the harmonic approximation. The results are an important step forward for first-principles calculations of vibrational spectroscopy of biological chromophores, including of short lived intermediates. Insight into the evolution of the potential surface along the reaction path is also obtained.[ link ] |
 | Single Molecule Circuits for Chemical Biology A research team led by Philip Collins (Dept. of Physics and Astronomy) and Gregory Weiss (Dept. of Chemistry) has developed a new technique for making single-molecule electronic circuits with a protein attached. This research was published in the journal Science.[ link ] |
 | Structure-Based Organic Synthesis of Drug Prototypes Professor Stephen Hanessian is the author of a joint article between UC Irvine and the University of Montreal , which will appear in the December issue of ChemMedChem . Hanessian will direct the new ChemBioPharm graduate program in pharmaceutical sciences starting in 2007. [ link ] |
 | Structure and Chemistry of Aqueous Interfaces Professors Doug Tobias and Barbara Finlayson-Pitts along with AirUCI international collaborator, Professor Pavel Jungwirth of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, edited a special issue of Chemical Reviews on the "Structure and Chemistry of Aqueous Interfaces." In this issue, Jungwirth and Tobias review their theoretical development and experimental validation of a new view of ion solvation at the air-water interface and its implications for the chemistry of aqueous particles in the atmosphere. [ link ] |
 | Organic Aerosol Particles Chewed up by Sunlight In a recent paper featured on the cover of the June issue of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, the Nizkorodov group describes photochemistry of oxidized organic monolayers on quartz nanoparticles. This study is a part of the group’s ambitious endeavor to understand the role of solar radiation in atmospheric chemistry of organic aerosol particles. [ link ] |
 | Surface Enzyme Chemistry and SPR Imaging Professor Rob Corn and his group have been working to develop the method of surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI) for a variety of biosensing applications, with recent efforts focusing on achieving greater specificity and sensitivity from the SPRI measurements by coupling the surface bioaffinity process to an enzymatic transformation such as ligation or polymerase extension. For more information, please see the feature article "Creating Advanced Multifunctional Biosensors with Surface Enzymatic Transformations" by Hye Jin Lee, Alastair W. Wark, and Robert M. Corn in Langmuir, Vol. 22, pages 5241-5250 (2006). [ link ] |
 | Virus Electrodes for Universal Biodection In a collaboration between the laboratories of Greg Weiss and Reg Penner , a prototype of a biosensor based on the attachment of virus particles to a gold electrode has been developed. The attached virus particles are engineered using phage display to recognize and bind both an antibody and a prostate cancer marker called PSMA. Exposure of the virus-coated electrode to either of these molecules caused an increase in both the mass of the surface, and its electrical resistance. Concentrations of PSMA down to 120 nM were detectable at this biosensor. The advantage of this approach, in principle, is that viruses can be engineered using phage display to recognize and bind virtually any molecule.[ link ] |
 | Proteins, Pronto A Nature press release highlights research from the Shaka group. In their recent JACS Communication, (128, 4508-4509 (2006) the group has found a quick and clean method to go from a gene to a protein NMR spectrum in under five hours, using a cell-free protein production system called Expressway, that is manufactured by Invitrogen Corporation in Carlsbad. |
 | Protein Recognition As part of their molecular imprinting program, the Shea group has recently developed a family of "plastic antibodies" for protein recognition. ("Selective Protein Capture by Epitope Imprinting" H. Nishino, C.-S. Huang, K. J. Shea, Angewandte Chemie, 2006, 45 2392-2396). |
 | New Annulation Reaction In a recent JACS Communication [Bolla et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 16044], the Rychnovsky group reports a new annulation reaction that generates tetrahydropyran rings as single diastereomers from unsaturated ketones and enol ether alkenes. The reaction is stereoselective and should be useful for synthesizing natural products containing tetrahydropyran rings. |
 | The Chemistry department is a major participant in the ACS 40th Western Regional Meeting, "Water, Water, Everywhere!?!", which is being held January 22-25, 2006 in Orange, California. A symposium on Gas Clathrate Hydrates, organized by the Collaborative Research Center on the topic is headed by Kenneth Janda . Reginald Penner will preside over a symposium on Advances in Nanotechnology: Low Dimensional Materials in Chemical Analysis. Iota Sigma Pi will be hosting a table representing the department.
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 | Saccharide-peptide hybrid copolymers as highly functional biomaterials, is the new design concept introduced by Professor Zhibin Guan, published online September 15, in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. The novelty of the demonstrated concept, and its promise as a flexible approach for the synthesis of biomaterials with tailored properties has already been recognized in Chemical Engineering News (C&EN) and the international press.
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 | In the April 28 and May 12 issues of the Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Professor Doug Tobias and collaborators (including former UCI postdoc Professor Pavel Jungwirth of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and former UCI graduate students Professor Heather Allen of Ohio State University and Dr. Liem Dang of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) published three articles reporting combined theoretical and spectroscopic studies of the structure of the surfaces of aqueous electrolyte solutions (acid, base, and salts of atomic and molecular ions).
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 | Surfaces of Ionic Solutions Differ from the Bulk In the January 28, 2005 issue of Science Magazine, the Hemminger group and collaborators at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab report ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements that confirm theoretical predictions of enhanced halogen ion concentrations at the air-water interface of alkali halide solutions. |
 | October 6, 2004. Irwin (Ernie) Rose received the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry today for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. At age 78, Ernie continues to work in the laboratory and is focusing his efforts on mechanistic enzymology. "I had the privilege of collaborating with Ernie a couple of years ago on a project involving the mechanism of methyl glyoxalate synthetase", says UCI Chemistry Professor James Nowick. Ernie had postulated the intermediacy of the never-before-observed molecule 2-hydroxypropenal in the methylglyoxal synthetase reaction and had hints of its existence from UV spectroscopic studies. "We used the UCI Chemistry Department's state-of-the-art NMR facility to prove that this molecule was forming. Observing a compound that contains only three carbon atoms, yet had never been seen before, felt like discovering a new planet in the solar system", adds Nowick. Drs. Rose and Nowick published this work in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 2002. Nowick comments: "Ernie Rose is the consummate scientist. He is enthralled by the problems upon which he is working and loves the pursuit of new knowledge through research. After discovering ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, which ultimately led to his Nobel Prize, Ernie did not rest on his laurels, but rather moved on to new problems and challenges. He continues to work in the laboratory and is focusing his efforts on mechanistic enzymology. When I finally got through to him this morning, after the Nobel Prize was announced, Ernie said that he was looking forward to coming to UCI this afternoon to perform mass spectrometric experiments in the UCI Chemistry Department's world-class mass spectrometry facility." [ link ] |
 | In this structure of engrailed homeodomain (left) binding to DNA (right), key residues for DNA recognition, as determined by shotgun scanning performed by Ken Sato and Aron Levin of the Weiss laboratory, are highlighted in yellow. [ link ] |
