Our goal is to expand the EPR capabilities at the University of Kansas to include a modern state-of-the-art EPR machine with kinetic capabilities in the millisecond time-range. To use this millisecond time-resolution, we require a pulsed photolysis source such as the requested excimer laser that can deliver high energies (i.e., greater than 20 mJ per pulse) in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum to release caged ligands within the submillisecond time scale. This latter capability will permit the resolution of time- dependent structural changes associated with the activation or assembly of biological molecules. Equally important is the availability of a machine with the magnetic field stability necessary to reproducibly measure the positions of metal resonances in order to permit a systematic identification of their structure. These new capabilities will enhance research efforts ranging from the elucidation of structural and assembly properties of macromolecules (e.g., biological membranes, tubulin), and the mechanistic features associated with energy transduction processes (e.g., ATP Synthase, Ca-ATPase, and Na+/Ca2+ Antiporter), to the detailed relationship between the ligand complexation surrounding a given metal atom and the physical properties of functionally significant metal complexes that serve as model systems for understanding the activation dioxygen (e.g., cyclidene cobalt complexes).
