Charles Russell Hille

Research Description:

DR. HILLE'S research has to do with the mechanism of action of metalloenzymes catalyzing oxidation-reduction reactions, and with electron-transferring reactions in biological systems. The overall goal of this work is to elucidate the detailed chemical mechanism of the enzymes under investigation and the structures of the enzyme centers involved in catalysis. The nature of the interactions taking place between centers in those proteins containing multiple sites capable of reversibly taking up electrons, including the thermodynamics and kinetics of intramolecular electron transfer, is also being investigated. The specific systems presently under investigation include xanthine oxidase, xanthine dehydrogenase, sulfite oxidase, DMSO reductase arsenite oxidase and trimethylamine dehydrogenase. The techniques employed in these studies include rapid and steady-state enzyme kinetic techniques (stopped-flow; flash photolysis, pulse radiolysis) and spectroscopic techniques such as electron paramagnetic resonance, (magnetic) circular dichroism, resonance Raman and x-ray absorption spectroscopy.