MRI: Acquisition of a Multi-User System for the Direct Excitation of Lanthanide (III) Luminescence for Biological, InOrganic, and Materials Chemistry

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at SUNY-Buffalo will acquire a multi-user laser system for the direct excitation of lanthanide (Ln) (III) luminescence for biological, inorganic, and materials chemistry. This equipment will enhance research in the following areas: a) protein-doped xerogels; b) solvation of Ln(III) ions in room temperature ionic liquids; c) Ln(III) polyoxometalates as building blocks for new materials; d) de novo artificial nucleases basded on helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motifs; e) Ln(III) complex catalysts; and f) Ln(III) probes for metal ion RNA interactions. This instrumentation will be used not only by faculty at the University at Buffalo, but also researchers at the University of Iowa and Hunter College. These studies will use Ln(III) luminescence to study materials and catalysts and probe metal ion binding sites in proteins and nucleic acids; therefore, they will have an impact in numerous fields, including materials chemistry and biochemistry .