The Department of Chemistry invites you to its departmental seminar today, February 23, at 4:10 p.m. in Fulmer Hall, room 438.
Dr. Jeff Zaleski from Indiana University will present, Thermally and Photochemically Activated Diradicals: From Inorganic Catalysts and Novel Materials to Dissolution of Biopolymers.
Abstract: Our research interests lie in developing thermal and photochemical-Bergman cyclization reactivity in inorganic small molecules, porphyrins, and nanoparticle surfaces for carbon-based polymerization reactions, or as nature has taught us, biologically-relevant H-atom abstraction reactivity. While a considerable amount of our efforts are devoted to developing fundamental metal-catalyzed cyclization reactions, we have also applied these motifs to a subset of natural biopolymers such as β-amyloid plaques and fibrin clots.
Disease states resulting from metal-mediated biopolymer deposition can arise when the natural cleavage mechanisms become inoperative or function poorly, such as the formation of β-amyloid plaques which have been connected to the neurodegenerative disease Alzheimer’s, as well as thrombotic disease (atherosclerosis) leading to heart attack or stroke. Current treatment options for β-amyloid plaque buildup involve inhibition or activation of specific enzymes involved in the disease pathway, while acute arterial thrombosis is combated via the use of anti-platelet agents or anti-coagulants that inhibit the thrombus. In the latter case, side effects associated with such anti-coagulants involve the risk of systemic bleeding which can supersede the benefit of the antithrombotic therapy.
Our approach to these problems involves developing small molecule enediyne ligands that extract metal directly from the plaque (Cu, Zn, of Ca), or incorporation of diradicals-generating ligands into optically-active Au and magnetically responsive Fe3O4 nanoarchitectures. Small molecules with N4-coordination have been developed for disaggregation of β-amyloid plaques by in situ activation and radical-formation upon chelation of Zn(II) and Cu(II), while larger-payload particles that can be activated photo-thermally or by magnetic induction hyperthermia are applied to dissolve fibrin clots. This presentation will describe several chemical and applied aspects of this work.
Contact: Chelsea (Pickett) Gao, chelsea.m.pickett@wsu.edu.
