ONIOM(DFT:MM) Study of Yaku’amide A and Analogues

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David W. Kastner and Dr. Steven L. Castle Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Introduction Yaku’amide A (YA) was isolated in late 2010 from the deep-sea sponge Ceratopsion sp. and exhibits potent inhibitory activity against 39 human cancer cell lines via a potentially novel mode of action. 1 However, due to its complex amino acid profile […]

Novel Methods of Creating Mesoporous Silica Films in Conjunction with Photoresist SU-8 for use in Thin Layer Chromatography Plates

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George Major and Faculty Mentor: Dr. Matthew Linford, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) is widely used for performing chemical separations and has been a staple in separation techniques. However, the functionality and effectivity of TLC plates has not changed over the past several decades. Standard TLC plates have a slow developing […]

Electronic Structure and Quassiclassical Dynamics of [2+2] Tetrafluoroethylene Cycloaddition Reactions

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Steven Jones and Daniel Ess, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Introduction Cycloaddition reactions are key reactions used to construct complex cyclic scaffolds (large networks of carbon atoms that can be used in catalysis, synthesis, etc.). While classical reactions that form 6-membered rings are well-known and generally have a one-step reaction mechanism, 4-member ring-forming reactions are […]

Development and Application of Minimum Energy Crossing Point Software Suite for Organometallic Reactions

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Development and Application of Minimum Energy Crossing Point Software Suite for Organometallic Reactions Justin Snyder snyder.justind@gmail.com jdsnyder Prof. Daniel H. Ess Chemistry Introduction Computational studies are critical to the field of organometallic chemistry since many highly reactive and unstable compounds cannot be isolated or observed experimentally. It is well-known that many organometallic reaction mechanisms involve […]

Microwave Promoted Iminyl Radical Cyclization

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Aaron Kubosumi Microwave Promoted Iminyl Radical Cyclization Dr. Steven L. Castle Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Introduction Pyrrolidines and their derivatives are found in many biologically active compounds, such as Lipitor and Atorvastatin, which possess a wide variety of remarkable pharmaceutical properties. Therefore, the efficient synthesis of functionalized pyrrolidines is of great value to organic […]

Quantifying the Efficiency of Heterobimetallic Complexes

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Stokes, Ryjul Quantifying the Efficiency of Heterobimetallic Complexes Faculty Mentor: David Michaelis, Chemistry and Biochemistry Transition metal catalysts have revolutionized the efficiency by which pharmaceuticals and other value added products are synthesized due to their unique ability to activate small molecules and drive the formation of new C-C and C-N bonds. In particular, the direct […]

Determining the Structure of the BBBSome

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Ludlam, Grant Determining the Structure of the BBSome Faculty Mentor: Barry Willardson, Department of Chemistry/Biochemistry Introduction Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS) occurs when an eight-protein complex called the BBSome is improperly assembled and can no longer function. The BBSome is responsible for trafficking membrane proteins to cilia, a projection from the cell surface packed with receptors that […]

The total synthesis of yaku’mide A

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Luo, Shi The total synthesis of yaku’amide A Faculty Mentor: Steven Castle, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Yaku’amide A (YA) has potent toxicity against cancer cells (IC50 = 14 ng/ml against P388 murine leukemia cells). Ueoka et al.1 first reported the isolation of YA from a marine sponge in the East China Sea. They used […]

Using Three Incommensurate Wave Components to Generate Terahertz Radiation

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Bagley, Jacob Using Three Incommensurate Wave Components to Generate Terahertz Radiation Faculty Mentor: Jeremy Johnson, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Electromagnetic radiation is a wave composed of an electric field and a magnetic field. Examples of electromagnetic radiation include visible light, ultraviolet light, Xrays, infrared light, microwaves, and more. Electromagnetic radiation is an indispensable tool […]

Production of Commodity Chemicals with a Glycerol Feedstock

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Zachary Pribyl and Kara Stowers, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Introduction In recent years there has been a growing interest to move away from petroleum feedstocks and instead use renewable fuel sources. As this interest has increased and biofuel has been used in greater volume, glycerol (a byproduct of biofuel production) has become over-produced in […]