Jerrica Brown

2018 REU Student Profile

Jerrica is currently a student at the Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. This summer she is exploring theoretical biochemistry with Professor Stan's research team.

Jerrica came from CSU to study with George Stan

Computational Simulation of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) unfolding mediated by 26s Proteasome

In this study, we use a coarse-grained model of AAA+ ATPase motor of 26s proteasome and perform Langevin dynamics simulation of mechanical pulling of GFP through the center pore of AAA ATPase motor. We compare mechanical unfolding of GFP by pulling different directions using constant velocity and repetitive force pulling. 26s Proteasome is an ATP-dependent degradation machine at the center of the ubiquitin-proteasome system and maintains cell viability by unfolding and degradation of ubiquitinated proteins in eukaryotes. 19s regulatory particle (RP) of proteasome contains hetrohexameric AAA+ ATPase motor that unfolds the substrates by threading them into its central pore and then translocate them to the associated peptidase, 20s-CP, for degradation , but the detailed mechanisms of this process remains unknown.

-Jerrica Brown

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Ethan Quinn

2018 REU Student Profile

Ethan is working towards his degree at Seaton Hill Univeristy in Greensburgh, Pennsylvania. This summer, he has joined Professor Mack's research laboratory to learn more about Green Chemistry.

Ethan came from Seton Hill to Study with Dr. James Mack

Solvent Free Ene-yne Formation in the High Speed Ball Mill

Green chemistry is the basis of my research. In green chemistry there are 12 principles that in an ideal world all should be followed. I am focused on the principles of prevention, safe solvents, and safety. Many organic solvents are horrible for the environment and they account for about 56% of chemical waste. High-speed ball milling is a great way to reduce solvent waste. In most organic reactions, solvent creates an environment that is suitable for reactions to occur, but in the ball mill, solvent is not needed since the ball pulverizes the chemicals and creates enough surface area for the chemicals to react. This summer I will be doing a variety of experiments to try and reduce the amount of solvent used and to find new, more cost-effective ways of chemical synthesis. My research has focused on the solventless creation of bromine and chlorine from alcohols with the potential of using ion pairing in the high-speed ball mill. 1-propyl-1-phenol and 1-phenylethan-1-ol were reacted with LiBr, LiCl, NaBr, and NaCl using the technique of liquid assisted grinding (LAG) with ethanol in attempts to create the respective chloride and bromide. While a couple attempts were successful, the reactions have not been reproducible. We are currently trying to optimize this reaction to do further stereoselective studies. Lastly, I am also exploring ene-yne formation by means of ion switching in the ball mill.

- Ethan Quinn

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Amani Gaddy

2018 REU Student Profile

Amani comes from the Xavier University in New Orleans, Lousiana. This summer she is working with the Ayer's research team.

The objective of my research project is to synthesize copolymers for its use in the construction of hydrogels via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The process of RAFT polymerization has many benefits including: creating polymers featuring a low polydispersity, developing polymers with a predetermined molecular weight, and its ability to work with various monomers. The goal of using RAFT polymerization for the synthesis of the copolymer is to build a synthetic copolymer with controllable properties including amphipathicity and water solubility. With the water soluble copolymer, hydrogels are created. These hydrogels are beneficial to the process of delivering drugs and biological macromolecules, such as proteins, to the body.

- Amani Gaddy

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