Walter Cleland
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Phone Number: (662)915-5422
Email: cleland@olemiss.edu
http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/chemistry/faculty/index.php?faculty_id=4

Key Words: models for the metal centers of metalloenzymes and proteins, nickel-containing hydrogenases and urease, metal sulfur clusters

Research Description: The research interests of our group are in the areas of synthetic inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. More specifically, we are interested in the preparation and properties of metal sulfur complexes as models for a variety of important biological systems and industrial processes. Enzymes such as the nickel-containing hydrogenases, carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, and urease possess nickel-containing active sites for which no accurate structural, electronic, and chemical model complexes have been prepared. The main focus of our bioinorganic research involves the emerging role of nickel in biological systems. Nickel has recently been shown to be an essential component in several enzymes, including jack bean urease; several hydrogenases; carbon monoxide dehydrogenase; and S-methyl coenzyme-M methyl reductase, the terminal enzyme in methane-producing bacteria. Although the involvement of nickel is now well-established, relatively little is known about the details of the structure and function of the nickel sites in these enzymes.

Honors Theses:

Enggano, Brian Matthew (2005) “Synthesis and Characterization of Nickel(II) Coordination Complexes with Hydrotrispyrazolylborato and Dithiobenzoato Ligands”