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Recent Articles from Prof. Peng Liu and Prof. Sunil Saxena Featured on Journal Covers

October 31, 2022 - 3:11pm

A collaborative publication involving the labs of Prof. Peng Liu in the Department of Chemistry and Prof. Yang Yang from the University of California Santa Barbara was featured on the cover of a recent issue the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The joint computational and experimental study investigated the mechanism of a C(sp3)-H functionalization reaction carried out by an engineered metalloenzyme. In the course of the team’s work, they established exactly how the enzyme active site dictates the stereochemical outcome of the radical process. Collectively, the results provide important new insights into a fundamental aspect of enantiocontrol in designed biocatalysts, paving the way to tackling other challenging reactions with such agents.

 

In another highlight of department research, a paper from Prof. Sunil Saxena will be featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of the journal Analysis & Sensing. The accompanying review article covers a suite of experimental methods developed in the Saxena lab for studying protein structure and dynamics using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy in conjunction with site-specific introduction of binding sites for copper. Spin labels are essential for EPR of biomacromolecules, and copper-based labeling provides important advantages over other technologies applied to this end. The review discusses fundamentals of protein EPR, the history of the development of copper(II) labeling, and an outlook on future developments for the method.

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1002/anse.202200053