Theses and Dissertations
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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
θATP-bd exists. The ATP-binding dwell can occur even at saturating ATP concentrations. We report that ω follows a distinct pattern in the vicinity of the ATP-binding dwell, and that the ω(θ) curve contains the same oscillations within it regardless of θATP-bd. We observed that an acceleration/deceleration dependence before and after the ATP-binding dwell, respectively, remained for increasing time intervals as the dwell occurred later in Phase-1, to a maximum of ≈ 40°. The results were interpreted in terms of a model in which the ATP-binding dwell results from internal drag at a variable position on the γε rotor.
Hybrid metalloproteins incorporating synthetic organometallic active sites within a protein scaffold are being researched as viable catalysts for the production of hydrogen fuel. Our group and others have shown that the incorporation of cobalt protoporphyrin IX in cytochrome b₅₆₂ yields artificial enzymes that reduce protons to molecular hydrogen in the presence of photoinductive light and photosensitizers. Using random mutagenesis via error-prone PCR we have created a library of mutants to use in directed evolution to optimize hydrogen catalysis, though a challenge in this project is that testing individual variants by gas chromatography is not feasible on a large scale. For this reason, we are developing a gasochromic, hydrogen assay that is based on the interaction of molecular hydrogen with tungsten trioxide with a palladium catalyst. Initially, results show this assay to be qualitatively accurate between trials; however, its application in screening remains a challenge.