Research

The research interests of the faculty can be viewed as falling into various categories, which we present here as Materials, Environmental, and Biological Chemistry.

A portion of a two-dimensional (NOESY) NMR spectrum of hemoglobin A in the metcyano state. This is a very large (65 KDa) protein, as well as being tetrameric and paramagnetic. The paramagnetism leads to these unusually shifted resonance positions. (Courtesy of Dr. Peyton)

Research in materials chemistry at Portland State University is aimed at problem-solving. Hence, there is ongoing synthetic and characterization work related to applications of fluorinated molecules, polymers for artificial photosynthesis and for molecular recognition and chemical sensors, and sol-gels for chemical sensor applications. Both inorganic and organic materials chemistry experience can be gained by a graduate student. Professors Gard, Wamser, Yan, Rananavare, Reed and Strongin are pursuing materials chemistry most extensively in their research programs. For more information about materials science at Portland State University also see Bodegom, Jiao, LaRosa, and Leung in the Physics Department, as well as the Mechanical Engineering Department.

Research projects in environmental chemistry run the full spectrum from in situ measurements to modeling and predictionfor policy making. Atmospheric chemistry forms a major part of the program, centering on reactivity of atmospheric free radicals. Advanced analytical techniques using mass spectrometry and laser spectroscopy are used to measure the radicals and other species in the atmosphere and during reaction kinetics studies in the laboratory. Additionally, the chemical sensor development cited above is applied to pollution detection in liquid and soil media. Professors Atkinson, Simoyi, and Wamser are the faculty members primarily involved in this work. Further resources for research in environmental science at Portland State University can be found at the Environmental Sciences and Resources Department.

Research in biological chemistry at Portland State University is diverse, ranging from NMR structural studies of biologically-active compounds to investigations of artificial cell membranes. Work is particularly focused on nucleic-acid biochemistry (e.g., nucleoside biosynthesis, RNA structure and function, and DNA hybridization dynamics), enzymology (e.g. mechanisms of catalysis), and ligand-polymer interactions (e.g., cofactor binding in globin and collagen, and metal-ion binding in catalytic RNAs). There are also many collaborations with faculty outside the department and university that encompass research in biophysics, genomics, bioinformatics, and theoretical chemistry. More detailed information on research in biological chemistry can be found on the web pages of Professors Benight, Iwata-Reuyl, Lehman, Peyton, Reed, Reynolds, Simoyi and Strongin

Neurophysin precursor computer model, based on results from the Peyton laboratory. This molecule is a combination of neurophysin (ribbon), a linker segment (ball and sticks), and oxytocin (space-filling). This model was constructed by using homology modeling, energy minimization, andmolecular dynamics calculations.