This NSF Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) Program award of $450,000 to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) will fund a collaborative research project led by Professors Yisong Guo and Wei-Chen Chang. The goal is to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms by which a group of four iron-containing enzymes utilize molecular oxygen to catalyze diverse and synthetically challenging chemical reactions. These reactions have the potential to produce valuable small molecules with applications in areas like antibiotics, antimalarial agents, vision, light harvesting, and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers will use an integrated approach involving substrate design, transient enzyme kinetics, and advanced spectroscopic techniques like EPR, Mössbauer, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy to identify and characterize the key iron-based reactive intermediates involved in the oxygen activation and reaction processes. This work aims to fill a crucial knowledge gap in understanding non-heme mononuclear iron enzyme catalysis beyond the well-studied co-substrate dependent enzymes. The results will inform the development of biocatalytic platforms to access these important chemical transformations.
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