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NCSA NEWS |
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Wheeler's calculations of electron transfer are not limited to photosynthesis. Some, for instance, are being applied in the medical realm -- for designing anti-inflammatory drugs that will relieve pain without damaging the kidneys or heart or causing ulcers -- common side effects of prolonged use of aspirin and ibuprofen. These drugs alleviate pain by partially blocking the formation of free radicals -- unpaired electrons -- from amino acids, which is part of the inflammation response. However, they also inhibit electron transfer in a related reaction, and that slowdown is what can have negative effects. Better knowledge on how electron transfer occurs could lead to a drug that targets only the protein responsible for the inflammation and leaves the other reaction untouched.
Another example is the Diels-Alder reaction, which ties two chain molecules together into one large ring-shaped molecule (think of two pieces of string knotted together at both ends). Such reactions are widely used in both the laboratory and industry, including the design of some anti-cancer drugs. "For years, organic chemists drew arrows representing the movement of electron pairs," Wheeler says, "but some Diels-Alder reactions proceed by the transfer of one electron at a time."
In quantum chemistry, although electrons usually dance in pairs, sometimes it is the one that is alone that makes the difference.
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