Modelling for mechanism: the reaction of nitric oxide with iron-sulfur clusters at University of East Anglia on FindAPhD.com

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Dr J Wright No more applications being accepted Competition Funded PhD Project (European/UK Students Only)

About the Project

Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly reactive molecule, and this makes it significantly toxic, but also a potent defence molecule to combat pathogens. Some bacteria have specialised proteins that remove damaging NO, while others use NO as a signal transmitter. These important biological processes often involve reaction with [4Fe–4S] clusters, bioinorganic units which function in a wide range of processes, including electron transfer, catalysis and signalling. Understanding how NO reacts with these clusters may therefore have significant implications for our understanding of a range of biological processes.

Studying the reaction of NO with [4Fe–4S] in intact proteins has already yielded important new information about this chemistry. The metallo-component of these assemblies is small, and so these studies can only access some parts of the rich spectroscopic data available when NO reacts. This project employs inorganic chemistry to deepen our understanding of this fascinating bioinorganic reaction. Synthesising a range of small models will allow the inorganic reaction mechanism to be studied at much higher loadings than accessible in proteins. The application of stopped-flow infrared and spectroelectrochemical techniques will be a crucial part of the project, and will enable the identification of reaction sites not readily accessible in protein studies.

Entry Requirements: Minimum 2.1 in Chemistry or a related subject.

Start Date: October 2014.

Funding Notes

This project is in a competition for funded three year studentships within the School of Chemistry, one of which is funded by the University and two by EPSRC.
Funding for the studentship from EPSRC is available to successful candidates who meet the UK Research Council eligibility criteria including the 3-year UK residency requirements. These requirements are detailed in the EPSRC eligibility guide which can be found at http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/Pages/eligibility.aspx. All candidates should check to confirm their eligibility for funding.

An annual stipend of £13,863 will be available to the successful candidate.

References

i) Crack et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133, 1112–1121

ii) Wright and Pickett, Chem. Commun., 2009, 45, 5719–5721.

iii) Jablonskytė et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133, 18606–18609.

Where will I study?

University of East Anglia

We’re one of the UK’s leading research institutions, ranked 10th in the UK for the quality of our research outputs and with more than 1,500 research students.

Modelling for mechanism: the reaction of nitric oxide with iron-sulfur clusters

University of East Anglia School of Chemistry