Chemistry Undergraduate Research Experience
Click here for a list of recent publications and presentations involving NKU undergraduates and their faculty mentor
(indergraduates are identified with an *)


Recent Summer Researchers and Faculty

The
C.U.R.E.
at NKU

 

The American Chemical Society's committee on Professional Training has stated that excellence in undergraduate chemistry programs is strongly linked to excellence in undergraduate research. Members of the chemistry faculty at NKU are engaged in numerous research projects suitable for undergraduate student participation. Most chemistry majors at NKU work with a faculty member on a research project for two or more semesters.  A list of faculty involved in research and their areas of interest are listed below.  Follow the links to find out more about participating in undergraduate research at NKU.

 

Faculty Research Directors

Analytical
Biochemistry
Inorganic
Organic
Physical

Heather Bullen -Analytical Chemistry

A. Biofilm Adhesion on Metal Oxide Surfaces
The Bullen Research Group conducts multidisciplinary research that involves the use of attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) in conjunction with other analytical methods to study biofilms, which have a profound impact on industrial, food processing, and medical settings. To date, a detailed understanding of biofilm formation is lacking. Current models of the early stages of biofilm adhesion do not account for chemical reactions that may occur at the surface of a substrate. Our research is focused on understanding the role of siderophores (organic ligands produced by most bacteria that have a high binding affinity for iron) in bacterial adhesion to metal oxide surfaces.

B. Customizable Polymers (Dendrimers) for Drug Delivery to the Brain
The Bullen Research Group also has a collaborative project members in biology and chemistry in investigating the use of custom dendrimers for drug delivery across the blood brain barrier (BBB). This project utilizes atomic force microscopy and ATR-FTIR to investigate penetration of dendrimers into model BBBs.


For more information : Dr. Bullen's Home Page || back to top

Patrick M. Hare – Physical Chemistry

 
The Hare group focuses on using spectroscopy to learn about the properties and behaviour of small molecules. We focus on molecules that have biological or environmental interest. The basic idea behind spectroscopy is that different molecular properties will respond to in different ways to the various colors (frequencies) of light. Measuring the frequencies at which they absorb or emit light will give information on the physical and electronic structures of the molecules. Measuring how the absorption or emission changes as a function of time can give information on electronic properties and also the relative number of molecules undergoing a light-induced change. The Hare group is applying transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved fluorescence to the study of estrogen photodegradation. High population densities can lead to unnaturally high estrogen concentrations in surface waters. One path to their degradation in such environments is photolysis by sunlight. However, the mechanism is poorly understood and the diversity of estrogen structures makes extrapolating from model compounds difficult. The Hare group is using spectroscopic tools and computational chemistry to determine the photodegradation mechanisms and learn about the underlying photophysical properties of these molecules.

orb1arroworb2


Orbitals involved in an Estrone charge-transfer excitation
trans abs'
A sample transient absorption spectrum


For more information : Dr. Hare's Home Page || back to top

Robert Kempton -Organic Chemistry



A. Folic Acid Analogues
Folic acid (1) is a vitamin which is involved in cellular reactions essential for the production of DNA. Several analogues of 1, among them Methotrexate (2), are anti-cancer drugs. The aim of our research is to synthesize a number of new analogues of 1. Compound 3, already prepared in our laboratory, has been tested and shown to have activity against human cancer cells comparable to 2.

B. Dihydrodioxins
Synthetic compounds capable of cleaving DNA are predicted to have wide application in medicine and biotechnology as chemotherapeutic reagents and restriction enzymes.The photocycloaddition of ethylenes to o-quinones under visible light to produce dihydrodioxins (DHD's) is a well-known reaction (eq. 1). In collaboration with scientists at the University of Cincinnati, we have observed that DHD's of the type shown below photochemically cleave DNA with remarkable efficiency. Initial studies with compounds 4-6 demonstrate that DHD's bind to DNA and, after brief (1-2 min) irradiation with long wavelength UV light, effectively nick and cleave supercoiled DNA. The goal of this research is to synthesize and evaluate the DNA cleaving ability of a series of DHD's derived from heterocyclic o-quinones.



For more information : Dr. Kempton's Home Page || back to top

Diana McGill - Biochemistry


The cartoon at the right depicts the Na,K ATPase, a primary target of study in the McGill lab. Expression studies have focused on chimeras of rat Na,K ATPase and the related H,K ATPase. Students use classical molecular techniques to assemble chimeric cDNAs, to make mammalian expression constructs with these cDNAs, then to express the rat proteins in human HeLa cells. Studies of many different chimeras are at various stages of study.

A second line of research in the lab involves the study of tryptophan 2,3 dioxygenase (TDO) function in mouse brain and liver. Classic enzymology is used to measure the enzyme activity from liver. HPLC is used to measure serotonin levels in brain from mice whose TDO levels may be altered.

For more information : Dr. McGill's Home Page || back to top
Jim Niewahner - Inorganic Chemsitry


The synthesis of catalysts that activate molecules such as N2 and CO has a long history and is of industrial importance. Jonas C. Peters of California Institute of Technology has been interested in preparing such catalysts from transition metals and ligands derived from 8-aminoquinoline. Such complexes are 16-electron systems and leave open a coordination site that can be occupied by small molecules. David A. Atwood of the University of Kentucky has prepared similar complexes between tin and salen type ligands. The ligands used by Peters and Atwood appear to be ideally suited for the purpose preparing complexes that can activate small molecules because they tie up four of the normal six coordination sites of the metal and their bulkiness can prevent solvent molecules from taking up the remaining coordination sites. Thus, the goal of this research is to prepare transition metal complexes of salen type ligands that could be used to activate small molecules. One such example is shown below:

For more information : Dr. Niewahner's Home Page || back to top
Stuart Oehrle- Analytical Chemsitry


Two areas of primary research are being done in my lab, in addition to fundamental LC and LC/MS separation work in support of various faculty and customer projects. One involves the development of an LC/MS separation method for the detection of nitroaromatic and nitroamine explosives in a wide variety of matrices. A few of the 14 compounds we have studied are shown below.

The second involves the analysis of various cyanobacterial toxins produced by various strains of freshwater algae. These toxins are quite lethal and have begun to be regulated in drinking water throughout the world. Work in our lab has involved the concentration and separation of as many of these toxins as possible in a single LC/MS run. The main toxin, Microcystin LR, is shown below. (Where R=CH3 and the A=Leu in the figure below).

For more information : Dr. Oerhle's Home Page || back to top

Stefan Paula - Biochemistry Chemistry & Computer Assisted Drug Design


The primary goal of our research is the study of small molecule/enzyme interactions on the molecular level using a combination of experimental and computational approaches. Understanding the factors that determine an enzyme’s ability to interact with small molecules is of critical importance for the elucidation of many biological processes and in particular for the design of novel drugs.

We are using computer programs to predict how and with what affinity drug-like molecules bind to enzymes. These docking programs are used for virtual screening of large compound libraries for novel inhibitors which are then tested in bioassays. For example, the first figure depicts the potent inhibitor dibutyl hydroquinone computationally docked into the binding site of the enzyme sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase. Inhibitors of this particular enzyme are of potential use for chemotherapy of prostate cancer. The second figure shows a structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model capable of predicting the inhibitory potencies of cardiac glycoside inhibitors. These drugs are frequently prescribed for the treatment of congestive heart failure symptoms and they inhibit the enzyme sodium/potassium ATPase.

For more information : Paula Research Group Page || Dr. Paula's Home Page || back to top


KC Russell - Organic Chemistry

Research in the Russell Group involves the synthesis and characterization of enediynes, compounds posessing triple bonds on either side of a cis double bond.

Dynemicin A (1). is among the most potent naturally occurring anticancer agents. When in a cancer cell the enediyne (red) undergoes a reaction called a BERGMAN CYCLIZATION (Scheme 1) that ultimately results in cell death. Students will develop syntheses for compounds 4-8 in order to understand how the rate of the BERGMAN CYCLIZATION reaction is changed various factors such as pH, solvents, and tautomerism. This work will aid in the design of better anti-cancer agents.

The Russell group is also interested in synthesizing and characterizing dehydroheteroarylannulenes (DHAs; 9,10). These compounds have benzene rings and/or aromatic heterocycles (12-14) separated by carbon-carbon triple bonds. People are very interested in these types of molecules because they have unusual chemical and physical properties. These compounds are expected to be very important in the design and manufacture of nanoelectronics, such as molecule size wires, logic gates, and memory storage devices.

For more information : Russell Group Research Page || Dr. Russell's Home Page || back to top

Keith Walters - Physical Inorganic Chemistry

Research in the Walters group focuses on inorganic supramolecular photochemistry. Supramolecular chemistry involves the assembly of “molecular machines” composed of previously known molecular components with known properties. The “machine” then allows these individual components to work together to achieve a desired goal. In our case, the goal is the ability of a supramolecular system to move charge when excited by light (hence the term supramolecular photochemistry), which would have many uses in solar cells, molecular wires, and even molecular computers.
Currently two supramolecular “building blocks” are being synthesized in our group: 1) Ligands connecting transition metals and fullerenes, and 2) Ligands that can produce linear multimetallic chains (shown below). Following successful synthesis of these ligands and appropriate transition metal complexes, detailed photochemical measurements will be performed, including absorption, emission, transient absorption, and Stark Spectroscopy measurements. All photochemical measurements are performed in our own laser spectroscopy lab.

For more information : Walters Group Research Page || Walters' Home Page || back to top

Funding

 

Chemistry home page || NKU home page || Comments || (Last updated September 16, 2008 )