Additionally, there are many chemical applications for this research especially in the area of combinatorial chemistry. This work will impact many areas of science, including chemistry, biology, and medicine. Michael A. Duncan Research in our group focuses on the novel and varied forms of chemical bonding exemplified by gas phase metal-containing clusters. Systems such as these are synthesized in a molecular beam environment with pulsed laser vaporization techniques. Tunable visible and ultraviolet lasers and mass spectroscopy are used to study the photochemistry and electronic spectroscopy of these cluster species.
Additional efforts focus on the synthesis and isolation of new cluster-based electronic materials.
We are interested in understanding the molecular determinants of structure, redox chemistry and thermostability of non-heme iron proteins. Our approach to these goals incorporates interdisciplinary training in inorganic chemistry, spectroscopy, biochemistry, enzymology, and molecular biology. We have cloned and overexpressed several non-heme iron proteins, and have mutated specific amino acid residues in order to probe structure and reactivity of the metal sites. In collaboration with another group, we have solved the structure of this protein by X-ray crystallography. We expect our research to evolve into the rational design of metalloproteins having unique and well-defined structures and functions, i.e., a sort of inorganic biosynthesis.