Organic Ion-Molecule Chemistry

With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor Steven R. Kass of the University of Minnesota. The chemistry in this proposal spans a wide range and is an example of basic research intertwined with practical science. New insights into enzyme structure and function, novel materials, and reactive intermediates (which play a central role in almost all chemical transformations) will be obtained. More specifically, compounds with oppositely charged sites (i.e. zwitterions) will be probed, the reactivity of amino acids and peptides will be explored, the properties of superacids will be measured, the stability of transient compounds formed in atmospheric or combustion processes will be determined, new reagents for carrying out chemical transformations will be studied, and unusually stabilized and destabilized molecules of fundamental importance, and potential consequence in the fabrication of nanomaterials, will be investigated.

Broader Impacts. This research program spans a diverse range of activities and thus provides an excellent platform for training young scientists. The results will be of importance to the chemical industry and the scientists examining the chemistry and pollution of the atmosphere, and are routinely incorporated into ?popular? scientific journals, textbooks, reference books, and databases such as the NIST website (http://www.webbook.nist.gov). Insights into the workings of proteins and enzymes also may lead to new understanding and noninvasive detection methods of human diseases.