Project 104: Monitor the Tryptophan and Fluorescence through Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Contact Information:

Assoc. Prof. Bei Ding   

Email: bei.ding@sjtu.edu.cn

Project Description and Objectives:

Fibrillar amyloid proteins are known to be related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Recently, researchers have determined a novel corkscrew-like structure of a cytotoxic segment of an ALS-related protein superoxide dismutases 1 (SOD1) (PNAS, 2017, 114, 33). This internship project will be focused on understanding how this corkscrew-like structure is formed. The student is expected to use fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor the tryptophan fluorescence during the aggregation process for the purpose of unveiling the mystery of this novel structure.

Eligibility Requirements:

Interest in physical chemistry or biological chemistry.

Main Tasks:

Synthesize a short ALS peptide segment.

Use fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor the tryptophan fluorescence during the aggregation process.

Website:

Lab: http://scce.sjtu.edu.cn/en/jiaoshi.php?aid=475&c=3 

School: http://scce.sjtu.edu.cn/en/