Research in Tan Hall
Alexis T. Bell: Building Better Catalysts
Harvey Blanch: Biochemical Engineering
David Graves: Plasma Physics Research
Roya Maboudian: Semiconductor Surfaces
Susan Muller: Studying the Mechanics of Complex Fluids
Clayton Radke: Colloids and Interfaces
Angelica Stacy: Solid State Chemistry
Harvey Blanch: Biochemical Engineering
|
By
obtaining a quantitative understanding of cancer cell metabolism,
we can better understand the metabolic roles of hormones, such as
estrogen, fatty acid metabolism and how drugs affect cell proliferation.”
|
Moving into Tan Hall offered the biochemical engineering faculty an opportunity to design our laboratory space to suit our specific research needs. Whereas our labs in Lewis Hall had provided the unique ability to vary room temperature by, say, opening or closing the windows (to compensate for the “always-on” steam heat), Tan would have modern necessities, such as air conditioning, a cold room, a warm room and an autoclave/media preparation room. We also insisted on windows from the hallway so that everyone could have at least a glimpse of the bay from throughout the laboratory. All these new features certainly improved student morale and, hopefully, research productivity.
Monoclonal
Antibodies
One of the laboratories was designed specifically for the culture of animal
cells. This allowed Professor Douglas Clark and me to expand our
research efforts on monoclonal antibody production. We are currently examining
the effects of anti-cancer agents such as tamoxifen on human breast cancer
cells, using NMR to determine the flow of carbon and energy in the cells.
Cellular metabolism involves a complex network of reactions, and developing
a drug to inhibit any one enzyme may not prove effective, as the cell
may compensate by using other pathways. By obtaining a quantitative understanding
of cancer cell metabolism, we can better understand the metabolic roles
of hormones, such as estrogen, fatty acid metabolism and how drugs affect
cell proliferation. We anticipate this will help us identify potential
drug targets in the cancer cells.
MarBEC
Four years ago we received funding from the National Science Foundation
to form MarBEC, a new Engineering Research Center focused on marine biotechnology,
in partnership with the University of Hawaii. Several faculty members
in our department have been involved in MarBEC, and the center has facilitated
collaborations with research groups on campus in plant biology.
The center supports more than 20 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows,
and it has attracted a number of our undergraduates to research projects
involving products obtained from microalgae, including carotenoids and
polyunsaturated fatty acids. We are looking at production and purification
of these compounds, known as nutraceuticals, and are developing techniques
to cultivate sponge cells, as these produce a variety of promising antivirals
and antibiotics.
Proteins
in Solution
Our other large research effort is directed at understanding the interactions
of proteins in solution. Separation and purification represent significant
costs in the production of therapeutic proteins, and stabilizing protein
formulations so that they do not denature during packaging and delivery
requires an understanding of protein interactions with themselves, other
proteins and interfaces, such as air, liquid and surfaces.
Together with Professor John Prausnitz, we study protein interactions in electrolyte solutions by a number of techniques, including light scattering, osmometry, fluorescence anisotropy and chromatography. These methods provide data for the development of molecular thermodynamic models of interactions that can be used to describe protein precipitation and crystallization. These experimental studies are complemented by Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations of interacting protein mimics.
In collaboration with Professor Clay Radke, we are examining protein adsorption at solid/ liquid, liquid/ liquid and gas/liquid interfaces. Our move to Tan Hall thus provided modern facilities to house sophisticated experimental tools, and a support infrastructure for fermentation and recovery— a far cry from Lewis Hall, where we had to change HEPA filters with discouraging regularity in an attempt to maintain aseptic conditions.
Tan Hall was a good move.
Related
sites:
Webmaster
College
Editor
© 2002 UC Regents
College of Chemistry UC Berkeley