Bioorganic Reaction Animations

Brigham Young University, Provo UT

Investigators

Abstract

Historically the understanding of biological processes has progressed from observation of phenomena at the cellular level to structure determination of biopolymers (i.e. DNA/RNA, proteins and polysaccharides) to elucidation of specific interactions and reactions that govern life processes. As these processes are understood at the molecular and sub-molecular (i.e., functional group) levels, the dependence upon interactions of organic molecules and groups becomes evident. Consequently, information obtained through study of organic reactions and non-covalent interactions among small organic molecules has become directly applicable to the understanding of biological processes. To facilitate students' understanding of how chemical events dictate live processes, three-dimensional interactive animations of reaction pathways for multiple enzymatic processes are being developed based upon enzyme crystal structure and semi-empirical calculations. The software allows students to visualize the chemical events that play a role in these enzyme systems. The goal of this Proof-of-Concept project is to correlate the chemical events in biological processes with those learned in organic chemistry courses.