A grant has been awarded to the University of California, Santa Cruz for the purchase of an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectrometer. The goal of this research program is to develop a deeper understanding of how metals, especially those found in the environment, influence living systems. Metals such as iron, copper, manganese and lead are found throughout our environment. Some of these metals are found as natural components of living systems, such as plants and bacteria, while others are contaminants. This research program centered on the new EPR spectrometer will provide critical new information at the molecular level as to how living systems store metals, utilize metals for natural biological processes and respond to metal imbalances. This research program brings together four interdisciplinary research groups from the Departments of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology. Working together, these research groups will examine the roles metals play in the prion diseases which include mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans, how metals are used in microbial metabolism, how cellular structures are chemically modified by metals and how metals such as manganese distribute in living systems and contribute to environmental diseases. This latter project is motivated, in part, by the Canadian Government's recent approval of manganese as a gasoline additive. In all of these projects, the molecular centers containing the metals will be directly studied with unprecedented detail using the EPR spectrometer. Our fundamental goal is to reveal important new molecular insights into how organisms use metals and respond to metal imbalances. The specific research projects will significantly expand our understanding of the basic biochemistry of metals. In addition, the findings will identify potential toxic metal species that could ultimately damage ecosystems. By identifying such species before they are widely distributed in the environment, such as manganese as a gasoline additive, we may help prevent a repeat of previous environmental catastrophes such as those experienced from lead, PCBs and asbestos. The instrument will be used primarily in research laboratories. From an educational perspective, having a new EPR spectrometer will allow us to train our future undergraduate and graduate students with this modern technique. We also plan to devote about 5% of the spectrometer time to class laboratories so as to enhance education and expose a new generation of chemists and environmental scientists to the fundamental technique of EPR.
