Department of Chemistry Central Wa. University MS options: Thesis Non-thesis project BS/MS 5-year program Last revision in Feb, 2016 Research Programs A completed research project is the cornerstone of the graduate program in chemistry. Following is a list of graduate faculty mentors and their respective areas of interest from which a student can choose: Gil Belofsky Isolation and structural characterization of organic compounds from plants. Medicinal and pharmacological applications of natural products. Timothy Beng Development of synthetic methodology for efficient and expedient construction and functionalization of nitrogen and oxygen- containing heterocycles, for eventual application in natural and unnatural product synthesis. Anthony Diaz Luminescence, energy transfer and degradation processes in solid state luminescent systems. Levente Fabry-Asztalos Design and synthesis of inhibitors against therapeutically important enzymes. Yingbin Ge Theoretical chemistry and computational studies of the properties of nanoclusters, nanocatalysis, astrochemical species and reactions. Anne Johansen Chemical composition of ambient aerosol particles and surface waters in the context of global climate and public health. Analysis of wines. Todd Kroll Identification and characterization of protein- protein interactions regulating the size, position and lamination of functional areas of mammalian neocortex. Martha Kurtz Chemistry education, environmental-based integrated inquiry, critical thinking skill assessment. JoAnn Peters Laboratory and computational studies of organic reactive intermediates. Robert Rittenhouse Computational studies of the structure and dynamics pertaining to substrate binding in DNA repair enzymes. Dion Rivera Spectroscopic investigations of macromolecular complexes of polyelectrolytes and surfactants in solution and at nanoparticle interfaces. Tim Sorey Development and integration of instrumental measurement technology in educational laboratories and the synthesis of educational strategies that support their use. Carin Thomas We study the effects of environmental contaminants and nanoparticles on biological systems, examining how these chemicals interact with reactive oxygen species and antioxidants to affect cellular and mitochondrial function. Why Natural Products? Track record of success Discovery process High-demand skills Field work component Rationale for Selection of Organisms of Interest Ecological: suspected chemical defenses or communication Geographic: extreme or difficult to access environments Taxonomic: infrequently or never before studied Ethnographic: traditional or folklore uses We have been heavily focused on the chemistry of the plant genus Dalea, after investigating many different genera using the above rationale. Some Current Projects: (Other Dalea species are also currently under investigation) Collaborators: Blaise Dondji and students (CWU, Biology). Dalea ornata Status: Manuscript in preparation; ten compounds reported. Activity: Anti-hookworm (anthelmintic). Dalea emoryi (Psorothamnus emoryi) Status: Compound isolation and characterization is ongoing Activity: A compound that is quite active against hookworm has been revealed, the known compound dalrubone: We also discovered a new compound we named emoryan that is weakly active: Belofsky Research chromatography column showing the purification of dalrubone Diaz Research Group electron migration and trapping in luminescent materials Dr. Diazs research involves the study of electron- hole (e-h) pair transport and trapping in doped luminescent materials under vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) excitation. Excitation by VUV radiation leads to the formation of an e-h pair in the host. In order for luminescence to occur this e-h pair must be trapped by the rare earth dopant. However, the electron may also be trapped by bulk killers (impurities or defects), or it may be lost to surface states. In this figure YBO 3 is the host and Eu 3+ is the dopant. The purpose of our research is to quantify the fate of the e-h pair after absorption of a VUV photon takes place. Above is another view of the process, which shows the electronic states involved. Once created, the e-h pair migrates through the lattice until it is trapped by killers or by a dopant. Dopant states are in blue, and loss to killers is indicated by the dashed line. The overall efficiency of host excitation once a photon is absorbed is given by host = t * qe, where t is the transfer efficiency and qe is the quantum efficiency of the dopant after the e-h pair is trapped. The transfer efficiency is then host / qe. These quantities are determined spectroscopically via absorbance and excitation measurements essentially comparing the amount of light the material absorbs to the amount of light emitted by the dopant after absorption. Once transfer efficiency data are collected they are modeled using the equation on the left. The transfer efficiency is simply the ratio of the rate of transfer to dopants (also called activators) divided by the combined rate of trapping by killers and activators. The multiplier S loss is equal to 1 when no energy is lost to the surface, and approaches zero as more surface loss takes place. If transfer efficiency data are collected for a series of dopant concentrations, the ratio and the value of S loss can be determined. Theoretical curves are shown below on the left, while recent data on nanocrystalline YBO 3 :Eu 3+ are shown on the right. With particle sizes > 500 nm no surface loss is observed, while at 25 nm more than 40% of absorbed energy is lost to the surface. Diaz Research Group electron migration and trapping in luminescent materials Fabry Research Group Design and Synthesis of Novel Enzyme Inhibitors My research group is interested in addressing biologically and medically important questions. The focal point of our research is the design and synthesis of small molecule inhibitor scaffolds against therapeutically important enzymes. Our goal is to find orally active inhibitors that could become lead compounds for further drug discovery. During this process, we are developing new and improving already known synthetic chemistry methodologies. To achieve our goals we use all the modern tools of medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis. Organic Synthesis Medicinal Chemistry Pharmacology Dr. Levente Fabry-Asztalos; (509) ; SCI 302F Computer Modeling Fabry Research Group Design and Synthesis of Novel Enzyme Inhibitors Also, as a joint research effort with a computer science group we develop and extensively test new molecular modeling and computational chemistry techniques. This endeavor centers on molecular modeling, as well as computational intelligence techniques, which include neural networks, fuzzy systems, evolutionary computation, and biology inspired computational models. Dr. Levente Fabry-Asztalos; (509) ; SCI 302F Computer Modeling Pharmacology Medicinal Chemistry Organic synthesis Chemistry with Computers Yingbin Ge 7 Astrochemistry in Ice Europa Ganymede Callisto Si nanoclusters emit bright light C 3 H 8 + 1/2O 2 C 3 H 6 + H 2 O Bulk silicon Pt n From water to water oxide to hydrogen peroxide My recent presentations and research interests are posted onMy CV including a publication list is posted onMy questions to you are which one of my papers or projects interests you the most and why? 2.Pollution Monitoring at Mt. Rainier and North Cascades National Parks (NPS) Precipitation High elevation lakes 1.Iron in Aerosol Particles (NSF) Implications on Global Climate and Human Health Crustal/Marine Anthropogenic Johansen Research - Current Projects 3.Chemistry of Faulty Wines Analyses Method development (Continuing Ed. And Biology) Nature of the Work - Examples Laboratory Field Solar Simulator Study photochemistry in synthesized and ambient aerosols. Aerosol Collector Collect particles in 4 size fractions at sea and regionally. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Instruments in Chemistry, Geology, EMSL IC, Chemiluminescence FIA, ICPMS, XPS Methods and results Examples of new flavanoids found Structure determination of unknown compounds Extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy Recent upgrade of our own 400 MHz instrument to run advanced 2D experiments like HSQC & HMBC High resolution mass spectrometry Sent to the University of Iowa We continue to find new, interesting and active compounds from this plant genus! Kroll Lab: Graded Expression of Transcription Factors Regulates Neocortical Arealization Altering the concentration gradients of any of these transcription factors results in predictable changes in the size of neocortical areas: normal Emx2 reduced Emx2 change in gradient change in area sizes The big question now are: 1) How are these boundaries established 2) How do these transcription factors transmit positional information within the cells but, there are always clear boundaries separating the areas We are attempting to answer these questions by finding the proteins to which these transcription factors interact. substrate primer DNA Mg 2+ ions Rittenhouse researchRittenhouse researchApplications of Computational Chemistry to the Mysteries of DNA Repair MD simulation = all atoms + forces + thermal energy + time Solvated enzyme/gapped-DNA/ddCTP complex studied via molecular dynamics simulation Rittenhouse researchRittenhouse research Rivera Research Group Investigation of macromolecular complexes and their interactions with guest molecules. Polyelectrolyte/surfactant Complex (PSC) H2OH2O TiO 2 (s) Goals: To understand how the PSC interacts with guest molecules. Understand the effects of the structure of the guest molecule on the its interaction with the PSC. Understand the influence of different surfactants on the formation of the PSC. Analytical Techniques Used: ATR-FTIR, UV-vis, quartz crystal microbalance, and surface tension measurement. Original Data Matrix - Matrix of Dye Spectra = Matrix with Dye removed - = Since macromolecular systems are inherently complex multivariate data analysis techniques such need to be applied to the acquired data in order to fully understand the systems. Example of a constraint applied to the UV-vis data set. Research student example of development and test of computer-based instrument 1) Schematics of comparison polarimeter 2) Build and test of instrument for change in phase () between the standard and sample polarimeter cells Sorey Research Group (continued) Delta Phi () Concentration (g/10mL) ) Calibration and validation of polarimeter with D-Fructose 0.00g/10mL D-Fructose 2.00g/100mL D-Fructose Timothy L. Sorey, PhD. Central Washington University Thomas Research Group: Effects of Environmental Factors on Mitochondrial Function and Reactive Oxygen Species Generation 4 e - 1 e- O 2 H2O2H2O2 OH Fe 2+ Cellular respiration and ATP synthesis Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Antioxidant and Repair processes Cell Signaling Apoptosis: Cell Death Mitochondrial Energetics & ROS Aerobic organisms have engineered antioxidant defenses against ROS Superoxide Dismutase (MnSOD) 2O H + H 2 O 2 + O 2 Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) GSH = intracellular thiol H 2 O GSH 2 H 2 O + GSSG Glutathione Reductase NADPH, H + + GSSG 2 GSH + NADP + Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase NADH, H + NAD + + NADPH, H + facilitates GSH recycling and removal of H 2 O 2 If you are interested in the research of our graduate faculty members, please contact them viaor phone to ask for more information or make an appointment. Their contact information can be found at 24