Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- All Subjects: Biochemistry
D2R. All constructs were expressed using the Bac-to-bac baculovirus expression system, then extracted with n-Dodecyl-β-D-Maltoside (DDM) and purified using metal affinity chromatography. Samples were then tested for quantity, purity, and homogeneity using SDS-PAGE, western blot, and size-exclusion chromatography. High quality samples were chosen based on insect cell expression levels, purification yield, and stability estimated by the levels of homomeric protein relative to aggregated protein. A final construct was chosen with which to continue future studies in optimization of thermal stability and crystallization conditions. Future work on this project is required to produce a sample amenable to crystallization. Screening of ligands for co-crystallization,
thermostabilizing point mutations, and potentially optimization of extraction and purification techniques prior to crystallization trials. Solving the D2R structure will lead to an increased understanding of its signaling mechanism and the mechanisms of currently approved drugs, while also providing a basis for more effective structure-based drug design.