My research focuses on the structure and the mechanistic aspects of Zn-metalloenzymes in order to understand their physiological function and their role in disease development. One-third of all known enzymes are metalloenzymes. The number of important enzymes containing metal ions in their active site is increasing, which thereby underscores the significance of the role played by metalloenzymes in biology and medicine.
My research interest spans across several disciplines of biological chemistry, focusing on the following areas:
- Zn-metalloenzymes.
- Role of metalloproteases in cell signaling and cancer metastasis.
- Prostate cancer and metalloproteases.
- Zn-metalloproteases in the cell cycle of Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Caulobacter crescentus.
- Spectroscopic characterization of metalloenzymes.
- Bioinorganic chemistry.
Within my research, I use molecular biological/cloning techniques in bacterial and yeast expression systems to obtain the proteins of interest. Easy-to-handle eukaryotic model systems, such as fission and budding yeasts and functional genomic techniques, are employed to understand the functional significance of these metalloenzymes in eukaryotes.
A wide array of spectroscopic techniques, such as paramagnetic 1H NMR, EPR, UV-Vis, CD are used in my research. Spectroscopic and rapid kinetic techniques are also invaluable tools in the understanding of the chemical mechanism of metalloenzymes. For example, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy coupled with a freeze-quench facility or rapid scanning UV-Vis technique dramatically increases the possibility of observing reaction intermediates formed during the catalytic cycle of a metalloenzyme.