This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This award funds the renovation of laboratory spaces used by five active researchers in the Chemistry Department at Trinity College so they can handle modern, chemical research. Designed for research in 1937, the laboratories used by these five faculty are not well-equipped to handle the demands of modern chemical research. In particular, these laboratories lack control of temperature, humidity and sunlight. Current research projects which will be enhanced by the renovation include work on the use of organometallic moieties to constrain peptides to particular secondary structures, the biological properties of the bone protein osteocalcin and the binding of proteins to DNA, rational syntheses for Buckminsterfullerene and related compounds, the reactivity of transition metal hydrides, and the role of reactive oxygen species in the molecular events associated with neuronal cell death.
When completed, the renovations will remove obstacles that slow the pace of accomplishment in the laboratories of the five affected faculty and allow these faculty to continue working with large numbers of undergraduate student researchers.
Funds from this grant were used to renovate research laboratories in the Trinity College Chemistry Department. A vital training component for undergraduate science students is their introduction to original research. The laboratories renovated in this project have been used for 75 years to train several generations of scientists. After 75 years, the spaces were in need of renovations in order that they could continue to be used for modern research in chemistry. In the renovations the plumbing, electrical and lighting systems were all modernized. New cabinets, benchtops, sinks, floors and windows were installed. Prior to the renovations the rooms did not have adequate cooling and dehumidification, making research in the summer months difficult, so a new HVAC system was installed. In one lab a safety shower was installed. The renovated labs are now in use. We had anticipated that the renovated labs would increase the productivity of our research students and that this would be apparent from the number of presentations our students make at scientific meetings. In the year before the renovation we had 8 students make presentations at scientific meetings. In the year after the renovation we had 13 students make presentations. In addition, the scientific goals of the research being conducted in these labs are being met. Professor Timothy Curran and his students are working to understand the physical properties of chemicals where a tungsten atom is linked to one or two other molecules via a bond between the tungsten and a carbon-carbon triple bond. These bonds are a novel and easy way to link two larger molecules together. Such linkages might be useful in the discovery of new drugs. In the renovated labs they have completed work on one project that has resulted in a peer-reviewed publication, and this paper acknowledges the support from this grant. They found that when the tungsten is linked to one carbon-carbon triple bond, the molecule remains flexible and can rotate in various directions. This means that the molecule will not have a defined shape, which would be useful in drug discovery. To counteract the flexibility seen in earlier work, Professor Curran and his students had been seeking to discover a tungsten molecule that is rigid rather than flexible. they have succeeded in finding such a molecule, the first such one ever documented. They are doing additional experiments to discover why this particular molecule is rigid. Professor Maria Parr and her students are preparing new compounds that contain the metals molybdenum and rhenium in the hope that these compounds will catalyze a reaction that moves oxygen atoms from one molecule to another. Professor Parr and her students have, to date, made several of these molecules in the renovated labs, and they are probing their ability to move oxygen atoms. Professor Richard Prigodich and his students are studying the biochemistry of osteocalcin, a protein that is involved in the growth of bone. They have discovered that osteocalcin binds to collagen, and this binding may be important in bone growth. Professor Prigodich and his students have localized the area on osteocalcin where it interacts with collagen. They are now trying to pinpoint the specific amino acid residues in osteocalcin that are most important for its binding to collagen. Professor William Church and his students, in their renovated lab, are engaged in neurochemical analysis of biological samples to investigate the impact of 1) the ketogenic diet and 2) abnormal generation of reactive oxygen species on the neurochemical environment as it pertains to both autism and neurodegenerative diseases. As a result of the renovation research group members are more able to conduct experiments under appropriately controlled environmental conditions. Additionally, the space provides greater opportunity for the students to collaborate and engage in intellectual discussions. Finally, we hired a new professor who is using one of the renovated labs. Professor Cheyenne Brindle and her students are making novel molecules that are intended to catalyze reactions. Having catalysts trigger reactions are beneficial because you only need a small amount of the catalyst and it can be used over and over again. In summary, the renovations of the research laboratories at Trinity College is enabling 21st century research in chemistry.
