This award from the Academic Research Infrastructure Program will help the Department of Chemistry at the University of Nebraska acquire an entire new integrated single crystal x-ray diffractometer and structure analysis system, with rotating anode generator and low temperature capabilities. Among the areas of chemical research that will be enhanced by the acquisition are the following: 1. Single Crystal X-ray Diffraction Studies of Organic Materials a. Tracking Chemical Reactions in the Solid State b. Organic Alloys - Mixed Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Crystals 2. Molecular Recognition Studies in the Solid State 3. Bio-inorganic Model Systems a. Inorganic Complexes as Models of Nitrogen Fixation b. Inorganic Complexes as Models of Hydrogenase and Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase 4. Macromolecular Systems a. Primase Structure and Function b. Photosystem I (PSI) c. Phototransformation of Phytochrome d. Calmodulin-Peptide Binding Studies e. Free Metal Binding Monoclonal Antibodies %%% Single crystal x-ray crystallography is the most powerful analytical method for structure determination of solids. In synthetic inorganic, organic, bioinorganic and organometallic chemistry, single crystal x-ray diffraction is an invaluable tool to characterize molecular structure. The information gained from the knowledge of the intermolecular composition and structure helps to develop new reactions of potentially general interest in catalysis or organic synthesis.
