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Category: Faculty News
Physical Chemistry Seminar – Marina Guenza, February 17th
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series
Professor Marina Guenza, University of Oregon
February 17, 2024 —2:00pm
Tykeson 140
Research in the Guenza group
I will present an overview of the research in the Guenza group. The goal of our research is the design and implementation of theoretical approaches that coarse-grain structure and dynamics of molecular liquids. Our theoretical models are based on statistical mechanics and liquid state theory, and are applied to study a number of key systems and related questions in material science and biophysics.
Physical Chemistry Seminar – Jim Prell, February 10th
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series
Professor James Prell, University of Oregon
February 10, 2025—2:00pm
Tykeson 140
Measuring Energy Landscapes for Biomolecules with Native Mass Spectrometry
Advances in instrumentation for structural biology and bioanalytical chemistry have enabled the study of ever larger and more dynamic biomolecules and biomolecular complexes. Native ion mobility-mass spectrometry offers advantages for interrogating small, heterogeneous, and dynamic samples while preserving much high-order structure even as analytes are transferred from buffered aqueous solution into the gas phase. Deliberate, precisely controlled heating of the resulting ions inside the mass spectrometer can result in collision-induced dissociation and/or unfolding (CID/U) of non-covalent complexes, revealing structural information that can be exceptionally difficult to access with conventional techniques. However, to date, a quantitative understanding of CID and CIU as a function of acceleration potentials, gas pressure and identity, and other factors has been lacking.
Our recently introduced software suite (IonSPA) can quantitatively predict ion heating, cooling, and motion in such experiments and be used to determine dissociation and unfolding barriers, which are crucial information for interpreting experimental data in terms of structures and chemical properties of the solution-phase biomolecules. We further show that this model can be used to reconcile data acquired using very different instrumentation from a variety of vendors, a key step in tethering these readily available experiments to a universal physical chemistry framework.
Interdisciplinary Team Lead by Matthias Agne Secures NSF Grant for MRI Physical Property Measurement System
Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Newsletter – Winter 2025
Organic/Inorganic/Materials Faculty Introductions – December 6th
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Organic/Inorganic/Materials Seminar Series
O-I-M Faculty Introductions – Fall 2024
Friday, December 6, 2024
3:00 pm, WIL 110
Christopher Hendon
Assistant Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Hendon Lab
Celeste Melamed
Assistant Professor – Fall 2025
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Physical Chemistry Seminar – Andrew H. Marcus, December 2nd
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Physical Chemistry Seminar Series
Professor Andrew H. Marcus, University of Oregon
December 2, 2024 — 2:00pm
Tykeson 140
Title: Studies of local DNA structure and dynamics by nonlinear spectroscopy and single-molecule optical approaches
DNA contains the ‘genetic information’ that is encoded as specific DNA base sequences, and which is ‘read’ and ‘processed’ by proteins that interact with DNA at specific sites. The local conformations of DNA bases and sugar-phosphate backbones near single-stranded (ss) – double-stranded (ds) DNA junctions undergo thermally activated fluctuations (termed DNA ‘breathing’) within an unknown distribution of macrostates to permit the proper binding of proteins involved in core biochemical processes.
In this talk, I will discuss novel spectroscopic methods and analyses – both at the ensemble and single-molecule levels – to study structural and dynamic properties of exciton-coupled molecular dimer-labeled DNA constructs in which the dimer probes are inserted at key positions involved in protein-DNA complex assembly and function. The exciton-coupled dimer probes act as ‘sensors’ of the local conformations adopted by the DNA bases and backbones immediately adjacent to the probes. These methods can be used to study the biochemical mechanisms of protein-DNA recognition, complex assembly, and function in biological processes.
Twisting Alkyne Cycloparaphenylenes into a Molecular Pinwheel – Jasti Lab in the News
Jasti and Dalton Labs’ Collaboration Creates Glowing Implants
Organic/Inorganic/Materials Faculty Introductions – November 8th
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Organic/Inorganic/Materials Seminar Series
O-I-M Faculty Introductions – Fall 2024
Friday, November 8, 2024
3:00 pm, WIL 110
Carl Brozek
Assistant Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Brozek Lab
Darren Johnson
Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry
DW Johnson Lab
Amanda Cook-Sneathen
Assistant Professor
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Cook Lab