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Modelling for mechanism: the reaction of nitric oxide with iron-sulfur clusters (DTP 005 U13)

Information

  • Start date: October 2013
  • Programme: PhD
  • Mode of Study: Full Time
  • Studentship Length: 4 years

How to Apply

Fees & Funding

  • Funding Status: Competition Funded Project (EU Students Only)
    Further Details
  • Funding Conditions:

    Funding for PhD studentships from BBSRC is available to successful candidates who meet the UK Research Council eligibility criteria including the 3-year residency requirements in the UK.  These requirements are detailed in the BBSRC eligibility guide which can be found below. In most cases UK and EU nationals who have been ordinarily resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the start of the course are eligible for a full-award.  Other EU nationals may qualify for a fees only award. Below is the link to the BBSRC PhD studentship eligibility guidelines which all candidates should check to confirm their eligibility for funding.

    http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/web/FILES/Guidelines/studentship_eligibility.pdf  The current stipend for 2012/13 is £13,590 per annum.

  • Fees: Fees Information (Opens in new window)

Entry Requirements

  • Acceptable First Degree:

    A first or upper second class UK honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate area of science or technology.

Project Description

Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly reactive molecule, and this makes it significantly toxic, but also a potent defence molecule to combat pathogens. Some bacteria have specialised proteins that remove damaging NO, while others use NO as a signal transmitter. These important biological processes often involve reaction with [4Fe-4S] clusters, bioinorganic units which function in a wide range of processes, including electron transfer, catalysis and signalling. Understanding how NO reacts with these clusters may therefore have significant implications for our understanding of a range of biological processes.

Studying the reaction of NO with [4Fe-4S] in intact proteins has already yielded important new information about this chemistry. The metallo-component of these assemblies is small, and so these studies can only access some parts of the rich spectroscopic data available when NO reacts. This project employs inorganic chemistry to deepen our understanding of this fascinating bioinorganic reaction. Synthesising a range of small models will allow the inorganic reaction mechanism to be studied at much higher loadings than accessible in proteins. The application of stopped-flow infrared and spectroelectrochemical techniques will be a crucial part of the project, and will enable the identification of reaction sites not readily accessible in protein studies.

In keeping with the postgraduate training policy of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) all students recruited onto this programme will be expected to undertake a three months internship during the second or third year of their degree. The internship will offer exciting and invaluable experience of work in an area outside of research, and full support and advice will be provided by a professional team from the UEA.

This project has been shortlisted for funding by the Norwich Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) – a collaboration between the Norwich Biosciences Institutes and the University of East Anglia.  For further information and application details please see the Norwich Biosciences DTP website:  http://biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/

References

Crack et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133, 1112–1121

Wright and Pickett, Chem. Commun., 2009, 45, 5719–5721

Jablonskytė et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133, 18606–18609



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