This award supports cooperative research in biophysics to be conducted by David Jameson of the University of Hawaii and Juan Brunet of the Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile. This work will continue research in fluorescent spectroscopic studies of the hemeprotein, horseradish peroxidase. It will elucidate the dynamics of the protein matrix near the heme binding site, particularly relaxation processes. An effort will be made to show the functional significance of protein molecular motions to enzyme catalysis and the energetics of ligand binding. Peroxidases catalyze the oxidation of various organic and inorganic compounds and are thus an attractive model for protein dynamic studies. This work continues a successful and productive collaboration between Dr. Jameson who is expert in fluorescence spectroscopy, instrumentation and theory of fluorescence and Dr. Brunet, a well-trained physical chemist who has funding for a new fluorometer, partly as a result of the collaboration. This and the training that graduate students are receiving in Chile illustrate the advantages of the Science in Developing Countries program.
