Microsecond reaction kinetics and catalytic mechanism of bacterial cytochrome oxidases

Fundamental biochemical research is of crucial importance for a complete and detailed understanding of what drives enzyme activity and how enzyme kinetic properties are optimized towards survival of the host organism. When cells fail to produce a fully functional enzyme, the organism’s ability to survive or thrive is impacted. In humans, for...

Ultrafast tangential micro-mixers for the study of biochemical reactions on the microsecond time scale

Detailed understanding of chemical and enzyme catalysis constitutes a main focus of current biochemical research. Fundamental insight in how (bio)catalysts function, requires knowledge of their three dimensional structure and a wide range of time resolved experiments that monitor the reaction progress. The ultimate aim is the determination of...

Tungsten biochemistry of Pyrococcus furiosus

Tungsten is the heaviest element that exhibits biological activity (atomic number 74), when it is present in an enzyme. It is taken up by cells in the form of tungstate, and it is subsequently processed into an organic cofactor referred to as tungstopterin, which is found as active center in several enzymes. Pyrococcus furiosus is a...

Redox biochemistry of Pyrococcus furiosus: Fundamental and applied aspects

In Pyrococcus furiosus (Pfu) ferredoxin (Fd) replaces NAD+ for carrying reducing equivalent to the oxidative phosphorylation machinery, and it also takes part in the regeneration of NADPH, which is necessary for biosynthetic pathways. Therefore, it plays a central role in various metabolic pathways of the organism. PfuFd is one of the most...

Hydrogenases from the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus

Hydrogenase is an electron-transfer protein and catalyses the simplest chemical redox reaction, the reversible two-electron oxidation of molecular hydrogen in aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. A kinetic study of the hydrogen oxidation reaction by Fe-hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough) reveals a biphasic activation...

Structural and functional studies of the iron storage protein ferritin from Pyrococcus furiosus

This research focuses on the iron storage protein ferritin. Ferritin is a protein involved in iron homeostasis by storing Fe(II) excess in the form of an Fe(III) mineral core in the presence of oxygen and by releasing iron during iron deficiency. Ferritins are vital for human health. Their malfunction may lead among other diseases to anemia,...

Biochemistry of Tungstoenzymes from Pyrococcus furiosus

The cell uses a variety of transition metals to provide greater catalytic diversity than could be achieved using only the functional groups of amino acids. The biochemistry of molybdenum and tungsten is unusual: they are the only 4d and 5d metal ions with established biological role(s). This thesis reports studies on the identification of...

Computational study of enzyme enantioselectivity

Abstract not available

Computational chemistry of PQQ and QH-ADH

Metalloproteins containing iron and tungsten: Biocatalytic links between organic and inorganic redox chemistry

T4 DNA ligase: Mechanism of catalysis, substrate specificity, and application to a novel method of scanning mutagenesis