Department of Chemistry
Professor of Chemistry
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1960
(Bioinorganic and Biophysical Chemistry)
(206) 685-4964
Email: spiro@chem.washington.edu
Spiro group website
The Spiro group researches in the areas of bioinorganic chemistry, biophysical chemistry, and environmental chemistry. We study the involvement of inorganic elements such as iron, copper, and manganese in biological and environmental processes.
Biological molecules are compared with synthetic analogues using spectroscopic methods, particularly resonance Raman spectroscopy, which allows analysis of light scattered from a sample that is illuminated in an absorption band. The resonance Raman spectrum contains vibrational modes of the light-absorbing part of the molecule and provides a means of monitoring structural features of specific sites in complex systems.
In addition, the use of pulsed lasers allows us to monitor transient species in real time, using photolysis or heat (T-jump) pulses to initiate reactions of interest. We are applying these techniques to protein dynamics, examining how proteins unfold, and how they change their shape in response to ligand binding (allostery).
“A conformational switch to beta-sheet structure in cytochrome c leads to heme exposure. Implications for cardiolipin peroxidation and apoptosis” Gurusamy Balakrishnan, Ying Hu, Oyeyemi F. Oyerinde, Jia Su, John T. Groves, and Thomas G. Spiro; J. Am. Chem. Soc., (2007), 129, 504 – 505.
“Differential Sensing of Protein Influences by NO and CO Vibrations in Heme Adducts” Mohammed Ibrahim, Changliang Xu, and Thomas G. Spiro; J. Am. Chem. Soc., (2006), 128, 16834 – 16845.
“Microsecond Melting of a Folding Intermediate in a Coiled-Coil Peptide, Monitored by T-jump/UV Raman Spectroscopy” Gurusamy Balakrishnan, Ying Hu, Martin A. Case, and Thomas G. Spiro; J. Phys. Chem. B., (2006), 110, 19877-19883.
"Heme Displacement Mechanism of CooA Activation: Mutational And Raman Spectroscopic Evidence” Mohammed Ibrahim, Robert L. Kerby, Mrinalini Puranik, Ingar H. Wasbotten, Hwan Youn, Gary P. Roberts, and Thomas G. Spiro; Journal of Biological Chemistry, (2006), 281, 29165–29173.
“Modeling of Ligation-Induced Helix/Loop Displacements in Myoglobin: Toward an understanding of Hemoglobin Allostery” Victor Guallar, Andrzej A. Jarzecki, Richard A. Friesner and Thomas G. Spiro; J. Am. Chem. Soc., (2006), 128, 5427-5435.
ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry, 2005
Biophysical Society Founders Award, 2005
Wellcome Visiting Professor in the Basic Medical Sciences, Univ. of British Columbia, 2000
AAAS Fellow, 1991
Guggenheim Fellow, 1989