Chemistry Department Occidental College

Chris  Craney
Professor of Chemistry

Chair, Biochemistry Director, Undergrad. Research Ctr

Phone: (323) 259-2767
E-mail: chmclc@oxy.edu

Education:
 B.S., University of Puget Sound
M.S., D.A., Washington State University

Research Interest:
Structure and function of protein molecules (physical chemistry of proteins) and the effect of small molecules on the control of enzyme reactions. The control of a metabolic pathway in a cell usually is achieved by modulating the activity of a key enzyme. Frequently the key enzyme is composed of several polypeptide chains linked by non-covalent interactions so that the enzyme's activity can be altered by a slight shift in conformation. This shift in enzyme conformation is often caused by the binding to the enzyme of control molecules that may function as feedback inhibitors. This mechanism appears to be used by phosphofructokinase and the oxygen transport protein hemoglobin.

Our studies of human erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase examines the effect of substrates (like glucose-6-phosphate) and effector molecules (like ATP) on the structure and activity of this enzyme. We are currently using enzyme kinetics, equilibrium thermodynamic, and HPLC experiments along with radioisotopic synthesis and enzymatic degradation experiments to gain insight into this system.

Our research group has also been involved in the application of hydrolytic enzymes for enantiospecific hydrolysis of meso-diesters in collaboration with Dr. Deardorff's group. Where the organic chemist writes A-enzyme-B, we have been responsible for finding the specific enzyme and developing the necessary reaction condition. Students interested in this reseach project must be familiar wiht the basic organic chemistry techniques used to monitor a reaction on a 10mg scale, and be interested in using the tools of Biochemistry.

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S. Birke, H. Kim, A. Periclou, B. Schorsch, D. Grouse and C. Craney, Biochemica et Biophysica Acta, 999, 243-247 (1989).
A. Ronneberg, G. Metz, R. Weld, P. Roffey and C. Craney, J. Radiolabled Compounds, 31, 329-332 (1992).
Donald R. Deardorff, A.J. Matthews, D. Scott McMeekin and Chris L. Craney, Tetrahedron Letters, 27, 1255-1256 (1986).
Donald R. Deardorff, C. Windham and C.L. Craney, Organic Syntheses, 73, 25-28 (1996).