03/24/2023
By Kwok Fan Chow

The Kennedy College of Science, Department of Chemistry, invites you to attend a Ph.D. Research Proposal defense by Meizhen Li entitled “Looking into the Disulfide Bond Dynamics of Proteins.”

Degree: Doctoral
Location: Via Zoom; Meeting ID: 997 5369 4853
Date: Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Time: 10 a.m.

Committee Chair: Prof. Jin Xu, Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Committee Members:

  • Prof. Gage Matthew, Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Prof. Carl Lawton, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Prof. Dongming Xie, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract:
Disulfide bonds, which are formed from the sulfhydryl functional groups of two cysteines, are an integral part of a protein's primary structure. However, the high reactivity of the sulfhydryl group (-SH) could potentially induce disulfide bond shuffling, which, in turn, can lead to scrambled disulfide linkages, disassembly of multimeric proteins, and aggregation. A characterization strategy will be developed to assess disulfide bonding structures, investigate covalent aggregation induced by unpaired cysteines, and examine the potential impact of engineered cysteines (for PEGylation) on disulfide bonding integrity using IgG mAbs.

All interested students and faculty members are invited to attend.