Award
NIH Reporter #1R35GM161700-01
Mechanisms and Control of O2 and C–H Activation within "Privileged" Enzyme Architectures
Recipient
Pennsylvania State University, The
Award Amount
$750,554.00
Ceiling
$750,554.00
Awarded
March 26, 2026
Identifier
1R35GM161700-01
This award funds research to understand how certain enzyme architectures activate oxygen and carbon-hydrogen bonds, exploring their mechanisms and evolution to inform bioengineering and drug development.
Description
The project focuses on understanding the mechanisms and control of oxygen and carbon-hydrogen (C–H) activation within enzyme architectures that are considered "privileged". It aims to elucidate how conserved protein scaffolds can initiate different reactivities from similar cofactors or produce a common outcome from diverse cofactors, using biochemical, biophysical, and computational methods. The research will explore three classes of metalloenzymes: iron(II) and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent oxygenases, heme-oxygenase like diiron enzymes, and class I ribonucleotide reductases, to understand their reactivities and evolution.