Partial Synthesis of a Synthetic Model for Rubisco A Potential Strategy for Improved Sequestration of CO2

Date of Award

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Sherman, Suzanne

Keywords

Rubisco, Model Complex, CO2 Sequenstration

Area of Concentration

Natural Sciences

Abstract

Global climate change may be the most serious threat our world faces in the near future. The abundance of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is expected to cause significant temperature increases, which will result in numerous changes that may be catastrophic. The most abundant greenhouse gas is CO2, and therefore scientists are exploring strategies to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere in benign and stable forms. Research has begun on sequestering carbon in natural sinks, such as geological formations, as well as enhancing its uptake in soil and vegetation. In addition, research has been focused on the process of photosynthesis, which is responsible for incorporating CO2 from the atmosphere into sugar molecules for energy. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) is a photosynthetic enzyme that has been the focus of much scientific research. Rubisco catalyzes the reaction of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) with CO2 in the first reaction of photosynthesis. It also catalyzes the reaction of RuBP with O2 in photorespiration, which makes it very inefficient at reacting with CO2. Consequently, there is much interest in the mechanisms of carboxylation and oxygenation, and particularly in Rubisco's active site when bound to either of the two substrates. One way to study the reactions of an enzyme is to construct a synthetic model of the active site. In the case of Rubisco, the active site may be modeled by binding a ligand to a Mg2+ ion which mimics the coordination of Mg2+ to amino acid residues in the native enzyme. A synthetic scheme for a novel ligand that mimics the coordination environment of Mg2+ in Rubisco was planned. Several steps of the synthetic scheme were accomplished, including the synthesis of 3,7- diox-1,9-nonanediol. The techniques used in this research may be modified in future research, which could then pursue the complete synthesis of the ligand and complexation to model the active site. This abstract of 309 words has been approved as to form and content.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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