Anne M. Spuches
Assistant Professor, Inorganic Chemistry
- Postdoctoral research, Dartmouth College (2003-2007)
- Ph.D., Chemistry, Yale University (2003)
- BS, Chemistry, Syracuse University (1996)
Research in Dr. Spuches’s lab focuses on how metals (both toxic and essential) are “trafficked” within the cell. Metals play many important roles in biochemistry and all organisms require metal ions to carry out very specific functions. However, many of the essential metals such as copper and iron are redox active and unless tightly regulated are highly toxic. Our goal is to understand how metals are regulated within the intra-cellular milieu. To achieve this understanding, we use thermodynamic and spectroscopic techniques to characterize the thermodynamics and kinetics of metals binding to various biological molecules such as peptides, proteins, and enzymes. Once we have this information in hand, we can begin to build models that describe the distribution of metal ions in the cell.
An important technique used in the laboratory is isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). ITC measures the heat released or absorbed during a reaction or binding event. In a single titration experiment, one obtains three key pieces of information regarding metal binding: binding constants (K), enthalpies (∆H), and stoichiometries (N). With this information one can calculate Gibbs free energy of binding (∆G), and the entropy (∆S) of the system thus providing a full thermodynamic survey of metal binding to the molecule This information is important for understanding how tightly metal ions are associated to biological molecules and provides insight into what factors contribute to this interaction.
Selected Publications:
S. Siamakpour-Reihani; T. A. Peterson; A. M. Bradford; H. J. Argiros; L. L. Haas; S. N. Lor; Z. M. Haulsee; A. M. Spuches; D. L. Johnson; L. R. Rohrschneider; C. B. Shuster; B. A. Lyons. Grb7 Binds to Hax-1 and Undergoes an Intramolecular Domain Association that Offers a Model for Grb7 Regulation. Journal of Molecular Recognition, 24(2): 314-21, 2011.
N. E. Grossoehme; A. M. Spuches; D. E. Wilcox. Application of Isothermal Titration Calorimetry in Bioinorganic Chemistry. Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 15(8): 1183-1192, 2010.
A. L. Russell; A. M. Kennedy; A. M. Spuches; D. Venugopal; J. B. Bhonsle; R. P. Hicks. Spectroscopic and Thermodynamic Evidence for Antimicrobial Peptide Membrane Selectivity. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids, 163(6): 488-497, 2010.
J. V. Gavette, J. M. McGrath, A. M. Spuches, A. L. Sargent, W. E. Allen. Fluorous Effects in Amide-Based Receptors for Anions. Journal of Organic Chemistry, 74(10): 3706-3710, 2009.
A. M. Spuches, D. E. Wilcox. Monomethylarsenite Competes with Zn2+ for Binding Sites in the Glucocorticoid Receptor. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 130 (26): 8148-8149, 2008.
A. M. Spuches, H.G. Kruszyna, A. M. Rich, and D. E. Wilcox. Thermodynamics of As(III)-Thiol Interaction: Arsenite and Monomethylarsenite Complexes with Glutathione, Dihydrolipoic Acid and Other Thiol Ligands. Inorganic Chemistry, 44 (8): 2964-2972, 2005.
M. Ivancic, A. M. Spuches, E. Guth, M. Daugherty, D. E. Wilcox and B. A. Lyons. Backbone Nuclear Relaxation Characteristics and Calorimetric Investigation of the Human Grb7-SH2/erB2 Peptide Complex. Protein Science, 14 (6):1556-1569, 2005.
