U. Cal Los Angeles This CAREER award is made in the Organic Dynamics Program in support of the research and teaching activities of Dr. David C. Myles. The research will focus on the design, synthesis, and characterization of self assembled mono- and bilayers that serve as membrane mimics that will be used to study fundamental parameters of interfacial recognition, orient complex structures in the membrane, and carry out catalytic transformations. Receptors such as bis-aminopyridines will be tethered to the surface of the monolayer membrane to study the effects of the environment on the surface and the binding and detection of ligands such as alkylbarbiturates. The information gained through this research will be used to self assemble membranes that model cell membranes by incorporating helical peptides. These systems will be used to model complex membrane proteins such as bacteriorhodopsin. The teaching plan will address issues specific to communicating chemistry to the large classes encountered at UCLA without losing sight of the individual. The focus will be on individualized education, organic chemistry curriculum development, mentoring , and outreach programs in elementary and junior high schools. The goal of this research is to gain insight into membrane bound phenomena through study of well defined chemical events in the context of structurally proscribed systems. Such studies are surface and interfacial analogues of molecular recognition in solution and are relevant to recognition phenomena in cell membranes. This research will also provide high quality research opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students.
