ChemSemBlog

This week Joseph Heinzelmann of Dendritic Nanotechnologies (DNT) lectured for ChemSem. Though not involved as deeply in chemistry as the common speakers, he did explain the chemistry that DNT is researching and to what end. Specifically, DNT is endeavoring to grow fractal dendritic polymers which, as a course of steric inhibition eventually resemble spheres, could be used in a number of applications.

To grow these symmetrical dendrimers, DNT started with a form which came to be called Prioster. It seems, though not clearly explained, that Prioster offered significant challenges on a synthesis and purification front causing DNT to pursue other options in research in this field. The next stage involved poly-amino-amine dendrimers (Pamams) which thus far appear to be far more promising. Though only a small amount was described concerning the actual production of Pamams, much was described concerning their effect, especially their potentials as pharmaceutical transportation mechanisms in the body. The dendrimers conform to spheres after enough branching has taken place (4-10 generations) but there are still vacancies inside the structure where other molecules can be held. In terms of cancer research, by tagging the dendrimer in such a way as to cause it to dissolve under the right biological conditions, it is possible to cause the drug to be released in small but potent quantities at a very targeted point, i.e. a cancerous cell.

There were several questions I had regarding a number of applications of DNT products. First of all, considering the small size of the spherical 4th generation dendrimer, how hardy is the shape? Does the dendrimer form a solid useful sphere and therefore could it be used as a nanotechnology ball bearing? Furthermore, what is the robustness of the dendrimer in general? Though the speaker mentioned that they tend to be stable up to 60-70 degrees Celsius, are there other areas in which the dendrimer shows frailty? Does the cold cause brittleness or is the range of usable temperatures broad? Finally, Considering the reactivity of amines, how well would the polymer work in acidic or basic environments? Does it break down? The technology itself is very interesting, but there seems to be many areas of it that went undiscussed or are still unexplored.

Though there was some lack of fully defined explanations on several things, he did have all the data required to make a clear case for the DNT product value and progress. Furthermore, Heinzelmann understood the material he was discussing and answered the questions that were asked clearly and with specific and useful responses. Overall the lecture was well presented.

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The speaker for ChemSem this week was Dr. Mary L. Kraft from the University of Illinois. She spoke on her research regarding recent attempts to better understand sphingolipids and prove or disprove the ‘lipid raft’ model for virus propagation. Though much of the lecture was enigmatic, there were several interesting points which she mentioned.

First of all, it is fairly difficult to do this research for a number of reasons. Mostly, cellular research with spectrometry tends to be done on dead cells, which has a potential for ruining experiments. If the goal is to understand how these cells and lipids function in a living cell, a living cell needs to be photographed. Until last summer this was very difficult in terms of high resolution pictures, but Dr. Kraft discussed the process of high resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry as a way of seeing the surface of a cell very clearly without necessarily killing the cell. In so doing she was able to gain clear images of the surface of the top of a cell which allowed her to analyze it and determine the concentrations of spingolipids present in a given area.

I will admit much of the biology escaped me in this portion of the presentation. The aggregate seemed to suggest that the experiment had used heavy isotopes of nitrogen and carbon to tag various parts of the lipids. These portions, and their concentrations, were then detectable in the instrument at analytical values. I was curious to find out what the amount of heavy isotope was in a given lipid and whether or not this was likely to affect the outcome of the experiment. Furthermore, it was unclear why the specific fibroblast cell was chosen for sphingolipid analysis rather than another type or multiple types of cell. Did fibroblasts offer conditions that were more suitable for experimentation? Finally, though the overall science was interesting, I was curious what the other applications of high resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry were and if Dr. Craft had investigated any of those projects as well as the spingolipid analysis work she is currently involved in.

Overall Dr. Kraft appeared to be a very well versed and capable scientist, though some of her material was lost in translation when speaking to a Chemistry based rather than Biology based audience. The research itself clearly holds pharmaceutical applications in terms of understanding disease better, and in that the lecture was interesting.

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This week’s installment of ChemSem was presented by Mu-Hyun Baik an Associate Professor at the University of Indiana. His topic concerned better methods of catalyzing water decomposition to gain the electrons that would be necessary in creating long chain synthetic organic fossil fuel imitations.

In understanding the energy shortage, several issues need to be taken into account. The right fuel of the future must have high energy density, ease of creation, transportability, and low pollution output. This eliminates ethanol, hydrogen, and solar power because of their various shortfalls. It seems the best solution to the overall problem is the one that has been functioning in nature for a few millenia. Taking water and carbon dioxide, the results of combustion, and adding energy (solar most likely) to synthesize carbon chains is fundamentally the process that would lead to almost limitless renewable energy. Granted, for this version of synthetic photosynthesis, the products would be alkanes rather than sugars, but the root mechanisms are the same. This is the process Dr. Baik discussed.

In his research he used a Ruthenium catalyst to aid in the catalytic splitting of water. It did lower the energy penalty of splitting water, but also had several shortfalls including decomposition. After a long process in which he finally came to a conclusion on the reaction mechanism at play in the removal of the electrons from the molecule, Dr. Baik discussed the future of his project which included his desire to develop methods of using an Iron catalyst instead of the less common Ruthenium.

The lecture was very involved and Dr. Baik was a very engaging and interesting speaker to listen to. He mentioned that the most successful catalyst they had developed thus far was Cobalt based, but he did not delve into the reasons for that or why an element one step up from Iron worked better. Furthermore, he only briefly discussed the other side of the synthetic photosynthesis equation involving the conversion of CO2. I was curious about whether Rhodium functioned in a clear manner and if this was the reason behind the switch to Cobalt as a catalyst, or if any Rhodium testing had been done at all. I realize that Ruthenium was a slower reaction helping to understand the mechanism and possibilities for Iron, in the same way was Rhodium used for analysis of Cobalt?

Regardless, Dr. Baik did an impressive job of both explaining his project and its possibilities for the future as well as tying all of his material into the present day applications and value it presents to the marketplace.

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The speaker at this week’s ChemSem was Amanda Hummon from Notre Dame. In her most recent research, she has been focused upon cancer studies and has made some interesting discoveries about the differences between colon and rectal cancers. To begin with, she talked about the six phenotype characteristics of cancer. Among them was increased cell proliferation, modifications to avoid apoptosis, self-sufficiency of growth signals regardless of organism inhibitions, and the ability to convert blood cells in order for metastasis. Considering these symptoms, she then started to analyze chromosome 13 in order to determine which genes were more expressed in cancer cells.

She did say that she had discovered two specific genes that were more expressed in cancer cells, and furthermore they were different genes in colon cancer vs. rectal cancer. This is an interesting point considering the fact that colon and rectal cancers are commonly grouped into the same disease category.

I did have some questions about her lecture, however. She spoke of using media with only heavy isotopes in order to tag the created proteins by the various cells. In doing so her goal was to be able to track the production of a particular protein. I was wondering what the effect of these heavy isotopes, when they are the only available raw materials, have on the cells ability to synthesize proteins. While the occasional heavy isotope will not affect the proteins overall, it seems as if a protein composed entirely of them would cause issues. Secondly, she spoke of rasterizing a laser across a cancerous mouse colon and seeing the proteins that were most prevalent. I didn’t understand how the second stage isolation of these proteins would occur. And finally, though all cancer research brings us one step closer to curing the disease, I was curious to know what the short term applications of her research would be considering the highly analytical nature of her work.

Overall she did an excellent job of lecturing on her topic. There were several analytical methods that she used which I am unfamiliar with which made the topic fairly engaging.

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Dr. Basar Bilgicer was the featured presenter at this week’s ChemSem installment. The simple focus of his presentation worked upon the well known chemical fact that two bonds are better than one. A complex organism produces antibodies which, upon encountering a foreign antigen, attach to its surface. When a large number of these antibodies attach, the mass and concentration triggers and immune response which works to expel the antigen from the system now that it has been identified. Often, the binding antibodies are monovalent having one site which bonds to the antigen. However, if antibodies are available that are divalent, they can bond to the antigen in more than one site, keeping them from detaching and encouraging the immune response.

Admittedly there were several portions of this presentation which were beyond my understanding of nature. I never focused much on either biology or biochemistry, and it took some catching up in order to grasp the material. I was curious to find out why the divalent antibodies didn’t slow immune response considering the fact that they bound twice as many antigen sites but only developed half the antibody density. Furthermore, it was unclear whether these antibodies were entirely synthetic (it appeared as if they were) and therefore had unknown internal biochemistry in organisms. Bilgicer did admit that the conditions of his trials on the divalent antibodies were significantly different than the internal circumstances to which they would ultimately be applied. Finally, I was interested to find that more than 35% of current pharmaceutical research was focused on antibody development, which seemed to suggest it was a much larger field than is publicized. Is the lack of notable material regarding it simply due to secrecy on the part of pharmaceutical corporations, or is the research still significantly in its infancy?

Regardless of all of this, the chemistry to precipitate and separate the antibodies from their respective solutions was explained in a straight-forward and clear manner and I thought overall Bilgicer did a good job of expressing his research and the efforts of his team in analyzing this material. In the end, though I didn’t fully understand the intricacies of the matter, the fundamental principles seem reasonable and well worth further study.

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This week the ChemSem presentation was given by Dr. Robert E. Minto from Purdue. Recently he has been working on understanding the biological synthesis of polyacetylenes and the enzymes that create them. Much of this material has not been investigated, but the biological effects of polyacetylenes are well known.

There were several interesting facts that were gained in this presentation. To begin with, Dr. Minto talked about the prevalence of Russian Knapweed as an invasive species in California. It has been discovered that the success of this plant is due to the fact that its roots secrete polyacetylenes which cause nearby plants to fail to germinate. At the same time, Poison Dart frogs have been shown to be toxic due to the secretion of other polyacetylenes the precursors of which are found in the ants that make up the frogs’ diet.

I did have several questions for Dr. Minto. First of all, it was unclear why polyacetylenes were as toxic as was described. No clear mention or discussion was made about the particular mechanism that causes problems. Secondly, though several possible applications were tangentially referred to, there did not seem to be any immediate uses for an understanding of the enzymatic production of these chemicals in plants. Granted, the results of much scientific study are rarely clear from the beginning, but a general direction of interest would have been helpful in following the lecture. Finally, Dr. Minto only briefly referenced the hope in his branch of science that a better understanding of lipid bilayers in plants would lead to a new form of renewable energy. This seemed to be an interesting concept, but it wasn’t elaborated upon. In the end, though I was unable to fully follow all of his lecture and some of the enzyme discussion escaped me, the biological reactions of polyacetylenes were rather fascinating.

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Dr. Ryan K. Roeder started this term’s ChemSem presentations with his work on bioactive synthetic bone replacements. Though the field of prosthetics and synthetic tissue surgeries has been growing rapidly in the past few years, bones are still currently augmented with metal rods or simple polymers. The rods are much harder than regular bone, causing the bone around them to deteriorate from disuse, the polymers are much softer than regular bone creating potential for creep failures as well as failing to bond to bone in any way. Dr. Roeder’s method involves imbedding hydroxyapatite ‘whisker’ crystals in the surface of the polymer since bone cells have an affinity for the calcium in the crystals. This binding creates a mechanical bond between the synthetic and biological components strengthening the supplement. Much of the presentation discussed the research and ways of developing this polymer.

The presentation itself was very good. Dr. Roeder explained things well and went into mostly sufficient detail. I still found curious the types of alcohol he used for an initial solvent in creating the polymer. Furthermore, I wanted to know about the shear strength of the material considering it has never been tested under such loading. In the case of vertebral bone, shear is a small issue, but if the material were applied to longer and larger bones, it would be important to understand its resistance to side loading forces. Finally I was curious what the cost of the development and continuing production of the PEET polymer with whisker crystals was to understand the financial burden the research of it entails.

Overall the ChemSem was interesting, well presented, and kept the audience engaged and focused. The research that is being conducted seems valuable and applicable on a wide scale. Unfortunately, it seems the product itself is still some distance from being available for use in surgery.

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The speaker for this week’s ChemSem was Jeffrey A. Turk from Alma College in central Michigan. He presented on the fragrance industry and the efforts being made to create new fragrances, while at the same time better understanding how the nose works, and how the brain interprets the chemical signals it receives.

The presentation was interesting and Dr. Turk did a good job of starting from basics in explaining the fragrance industry and the procurement of natural supplies. His focus was sandalwood oil which is very expensive. Most of what I learned in this seminar, however, related most directly to understanding of how the nose and brain interact in interpreting chemical smells. Apparently the nose is designed around the interpretation of functional groups on organic molecules. Furthermore, due in part to the mucous that protects the lining of the nasal passages, in order to smell something, the material needs to be hydrophobic, or else the mucous cannot solvate it.

Among the materials brought to demonstrate fragrances, were several vials which Dr. Turk used to give the audience a whiff of the differences one’s nose makes of various substances. One of the most interesting facts was the discussion of anosmia. Evidently, many people lack the ability to smell santolol, and furthermore, in some, once they smell it, for a time they cannot smell it again. Another sample Dr. Turk supplied was the smell from Ambergris which is specifically known for causing acute short term anosmia. This occured in me, in which I could smell it initially, but not upon a second attempt.

Overall, Dr. Turk did an impressive job of explaining something that most people take for granted every day in a more in depth and interesting manner such that it brought to light new and valuable material. The talk did not involve overly in depth reactions, but it did have a useful and engaging amount of chemistry such that the practical applications of more complex subjects (such as stereochemistry and Claisen rearrangements) was given usefulness in the broader scope of analytical and research chemistry.

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This edition of ChemSem brought the never before tried teleconference technology to the presentation amphitheater. Joining us from California was Jyllian Kemsley, a writer for the online and print magazine Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN). She was initially trained as a chemist, and received her Ph.D. in that field before determining that she was interested in pursuing science writing as a career. Though there was not much chemistry to be offered from this presentation, there were several things that we did learn which were interesting and potentially beneficial in terms of understanding and possibly pursuing a career in that field.

Among the valuable suggestions offered by Kemsley was the fact that there were many facets to the opportunities offered by science writing. Online news, newspapers, and other elements of news media are always in need of scientists who can read, understand, and translate works of science into colloquial and interesting language for the average reader. Beyond this, one of the valuable elements is the fact that science writers have the opportunity to gain a broad understanding of the fields of science without actually having to study or research a specific and focused element of the field. In doing so, she admits, science writers do need to have a willingness to “ask the stupid questions.” Given that the interviewee is well versed in the material they are being interviewed about, the writer must be willing, and have the confidence, to get them to break down the information into smaller and more manageable chunks, even if in doing so, the writer seems lacking in understanding. Finally, though there was not a lot of specific information, Kemsley did suggest that an interested individual should endeavor to get some form of science writing experience as an undergraduate in whatever newspaper or periodical for a university they could.

Though I personally don’t find myself drawn to the field of science writing, I do enjoy reading the material and learning about discoveries other people have made. I did find it valuable that Kemsley pointed out the volatility of the field and the fact that quite a few science writers were recently laid off. I appreciated her honesty and her discussion of the topic as a valuable resource in spreading knowledge and understanding regarding chemistry and science in general.

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This installment of ChemSem had the honor of hearing Dr. Hisashi Yamamoto of the University of Chicago present on some of the studies he has undertaken in the past. Yamamoto is a world renown organic synthetic chemist with many years of experience. He’s spent many years focusing on developing the science and art of organic reaction syntheses of natural substances.

It is well known that there is much waste involved in standard synthetic organic chemistry. Solvents, catalysts, and other reagents must often be discarded after use. Futhermore, a standard synthesis of a compound generally requires a few to several reaction steps multiplying the volumes of wasted materials. Yamamoto has been focusing on reducing that waste by developing methods of single step syntheses. Though some of the reagents that he uses in his single step processes are more expensive than general reagents, and must also be discarded, the overall cost-benefit analysis shows that the economy of time and material for one step far outweighs the costs of more expensive reagents.

Much of the seminar involved the syntheses of polyketides which are valuable due to the fact that they generally are five times more biologically active than commonly occurring organic substances. Thus, a method for easily synthesizing them, could have significant ramifications on the pharmaceutical industry. Secondly, I thought it was interesting when Dr. Yamamoto pointed out as an example of waste that even the synthesis of Vitamin E which is produced in vast quantities, commonly uses large amounts of dichloromethane for production. Finally, Dr. Yamamoto used super Bronsted acids for portions of his synthesis. When asked about these, he noted that they were very useful, but had not been invented by organic chemists seeking better acids. Instead, it turns out that they were developed by the inventors of Lithium Ion batteries to increase speed of reaction.

Overall, Dr. Yamamoto did an excellent job of presenting the value of single step cascade reactions for synthesis of organic materials. If possible, this could be a very useful tool and could greatly increase the rate of discovery in chemical studies. Much of the intricate chemistry involved was difficult to grasp, but overall the presentation was well received.

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This installment of ChemSem featured Michael A. Velbel of Michigan State University’s Geological Sciences department. He discussed his PhD and ongoing research work involving mineral erosion and solubility from rain in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Evidently, on an annual or semi-annual basis, Dr. Velbel ventures south to collect samples of rock from the Blue Ridge Mountain National Park and analyzes them under an electron microscope in order to see the pores and fissures in the surface and determine what, if any, mineral substances have been washed out by the action of water erosion.

Much of this presentation was interesting, though the true applications of all of it was not clear. To begin with, Velbel mentioned that one could see the erosion of alumina out of the holes in feldspar samples. This is interesting considering that alumina is one of the seven most abundant elements on earth, but is almost entirely insoluble. Though most of the solutes in these samples were only washed a few millimeters at most from their pores down the face of the feldspar sample, over time this erosion can be significant. In the Blue Ridge Mountains National Park, there are weekly studies of the water supply leaving the park taken which record dissolved solutes and calculate mass loss based upon flow speeds through a sluice. This data, kept for many years by the park, was invaluable in understanding the effects over time of this erosion of feldspar and other minerals from the ground structure.

Velbel’s research falls into the category of Watershed studies. I found it interesting when Velbel pointed out that most of the impetus for this study came at the same time many other watershed studies were undertaken and for the same reason. Specifically, when the first occurrences of acid rain came in the 1980’s, many different groups began studying common erosion features in order to better understand the effect sulfuric acid would have on erosion of the landscape and the rates of material loss to water. Finally, though not specifically educational, Velbel did share an interesting bit of trivia when he admitted that mineralogy involves some of the worst nomenclature around since every mineral is named randomly after its place, its appearance, its discoverer, latin, greek, or a variety of these to distinguish it.

All in all the presentation was well prepared and effectively explained both the process of the research and it’s purpose. Velbel was a good speaker and amusing at times, offering quite a bit of knowledge about mineralogy, though not all of it could be clear from the common chemist’s perspective. Velbel sees his efforts as forwarding knowledge in general claiming that the studies of minerals in solutions helps scientists better understand the world and the cosmos in general. While this is true, the specific applications of the ongoing research is not entirely clear. It would have been nice if some measure of application was more understood and seen so that the research could be viewed as moving in a discernible, definable, and effective direction.

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This installment of ChemSem featured Adam J. Matzger of the University of Michigan. His topic involved metal organic frameworks of organic ligands forming lattice structures with metal linkages. It turns out that these lattice structures, though not surpassingly sturdy or common with long range stability, are capable of absorbing hydrogen gas in as much as 7.5 wt% and filtering everything from carbon dioxide from flue gasses to sulfur from diesel supplies.

I learned quite a variety of things from this lecture. To begin with, the construction of these metal organic frameworks seems to occur without significant synthetic difficulties. Though the structures are only a couple of millimeters in size in any one direction, they do seem to self assemble fairly consistently. Secondly, many different metals seem to work as vertex linkages in the lattice framework, magnesium is good for CO2 removal from flue gases, but nickel seems to be best for filtering ethanol. Finally, in terms of recovery of the lattice structure, the gases can be expelled simply by lowering the pressure above the material which is beneficial considering the fact that pressure swings have lower energy penalties than temperature swings for recovery.

Though it appears that the technology is still relatively distant from commercial success, the experimental potential of these metal organic frameworks seems to be well proven. It was shown that these lattices had adjustable properties making it far more versatile in the number of filtration applications. Dr. Matzger did an excellent job of describing the methods and usefulness of the research his lab is doing and kept the discussion at an intellectually educational level without his audience losing track of his topic.

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There are many complexities that occur in nature, and synthetic organic chemistry is not nearly able to reproduce all that nature can do. This can be very frustrating considering the high yields natural methods commonly give, and the valuable potential of many natural substances. Thus, while many synthetic laboratories focus on using known methods to create, in as few steps as possible, a specific organic compound, the White Research Group from the University of Illinois focuses on finding specifically useful methods of doing a common synthetic organic task. In this presentation specifically, Sean Reed focused upon describing his research group’s attempts to find synthetic methods for C-H amination under many circumstances.

The presentation itself was fairly complex. Though not specifically problematic, it was difficult for an undergraduate chemist with a full year of organic chemistry to follow. I can see the importance of discovering a method of successfully converting C-H bonds to amines in high yields.  But the seminar itself seemed to wander some, making the actual following of the process involved and difficult.

Despite some complexity with the issues involved, there were several important facts that could be gleaned. Activating ligands had to be good pi acceptors in order to draw electron density away and encourage the changing of functional groups. They found that linear allylic alcohols were difficult to synthesize. One of the most interesting things involved the fact that heterobimetallic catalysis worked, while either metal individually caused no reaction. This is unusual and is still being studied in the research.

The presentation overall was decent, but too involved to be readily understandable by an undergraduate audience. The material seems interesting enough if the concepts could be more thoroughly and directly grasped. I can see that the overall goal of this research is to make organic syntheses of all types cheaper and easier to complete, but the directly understood applications are not well defined other than it being another organic procedure to add to a synthetic chemist’s library.

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In this installment of ChemSem, Carolyn Anderson of Calvin College discussed her research regarding the attempted synthesis of N-Alkyl Pyridones. Though the seminar was technical in nature, to simplify matters an N-Alkyl Pyridone essentially involves hydrocarbons attached to nitrogen in a ring containing a double bonded oxygen. Commonly oxygen is the most likely spot of attachment, and this was the difficulty such a synthesis faced.

Dr. Anderson spoke quickly on the topic ranging from the initial phases of research to the many dead ends that accompanied progress in discovering a good way of synthesizing the reagents with the alkyl group correctly attached to the nitrogen. They discovered a problem with most of the substances they tried forming a resonance structure which made the oxygen the most likely binding site. The research is on going.

There were several things I learned in this seminar. To begin with I learned that a Hammett plot is one method of correlating electronic effects of substituents to a reaction rate. Furthermore, they found that though the reaction took place fairly well, it was not an intramolecular mechanism which could be seen by simply substituent testing. Finally, by changing an organic molecule slightly, they discovered they were able to give it a longer life time in the body because it still could function as a common biochemical, but the body was less capable of breaking the material down into waste.

Overall, Dr. Anderson did a good job both with her presentation and in answering follow up questions. The future of this research is sure to hold valuable answers.

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The topic in ChemSem this week was Total Synthesis from Silas Cook of Indiana University. Specifically he discussed his five year project regarding 11-O-Debenzointashironin which was a recently isolated natural product that has been shown to increase the health of neurons. Ideally speaking, this drug could aid in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease if successfully synthesized. Though much of the presentation followed this specific synthesis, the overall goal of the seminar was to educate on the purposes and possibilities total synthesis laboratories offer. Beyond the fact that they give unparalleled opportunities for experimentation and procedural skill development, they are also useful in terms of the products they produce. Though many syntheses fail, the overall potential leads to the broadening of Chemistry as a science and the discovery of reagents that could be useful in the medical fields.

Cook did an excellent job of laying the ground work for his seminar with his discussion of the purpose and methodology of total synthesis. Among the things I learned was a host of material regarding various reactions. The presentation went very quickly and it was difficult to absorb much of the information he discussed, but the overview was well received.

Some facts about total synthesis I did find interesting. For instance, most laboratory chemists working for pharmaceutical companies (likely greater than 90%) come from total synthesis graduate programs. Total synthesis, at least at Indiana University, focuses on neurological diseases, third world diseases, and other unknown synthetic procedures that potentially could improve the quality of life for people around the world. Finally, the total synthesis presentation highlighted how much of an introduction to organic chemistry the undergraduate course really is.

Overall Cook did a great job presenting his work. It was interesting and well received. It is certain from the lecture that to become a total synthesis chemist, one must have large amounts of patience and a good level of divergent thinking capable of continually finding detour routes around that which theoretically should work, but for some reason does not.

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There has been much talk recently about the studies that are taking place regarding protein folding. Considering the extent of the protein field and the complexity of the task of understanding so expansive a molecule, many different methods have been derived for understanding what the shapes of these proteins are in various forms.

The speaker discussed in this seminar his work to study the process of protein unfolding by studies with mass spectrometers. In actuality it seems as if he determined the various characteristics of protein unfolding, for specific proteins, at various pH values. It was not clear from the presentation, how adjusting the pH values of a sample and analyzing it through a time of flight mass spectrometer indicated what happened to the same protein in biological processes. Since the body’s pH is regulated as a buffer solution, it wasn’t clear how these proteins could be folded and unfolded internally if large swings in pH were required.

The speaker did have some interesting things to say, specifically about the functions of a mass spectrometer. Though he could not go into great detail, he did explain his particular time of flight spectrometer and its functions.

I also learned about the Red Cross and the regulations governing the storage of blood. Though this didn’t have much to do with the science of mass spectrometry and protein folding, it did offer a foundation for why synthetic blood might be incredibly valuable to the medical community. Finally, though I didn’t follow all of the presentation’s details, it was interesting to learn about the ways bacteria has developed to interact with cells in the body, and the possible defenses that could be made to help the body’s immune system.

In conclusion, the presentation and topic were not bad, the seminar itself went on rather long for the topical material and could have benefited from some reduction of detail in order to better understand foundation and scope of the research.

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This week in ChemSem, Dr. Matthew J. Allen of Wayne State University spoke on the research he is conducting concerning the paramagnetic properties of lanthanides. Though the lanthanides themselves are well known in the chemical world, the specific study of them seems to be limited to a few labs. This is interesting considering the broad range of applications both in terms of medicine and environmentally friendlier chemistry that Dr. Allen brought out.

Though the research is far from complete, the presentation style itself was helpful. The material was complex, but was aptly explained from a common foundational basis such that the audience of Chemistry and Biochemistry undergraduates was able to grasp the significance and, to a certain extent, the underlying difficulties and methods. The topic itself was quite interesting. It was nice to see the study and application of parts of the periodic table that rarely enjoy the spotlight. Furthermore, the paramagnetic qualities of the lanthanides make them intriguing in terms of potential. The lecture focused mainly on the important aspects of either gadolinium or europium as they allowed for greater contrast in high field MRI’s. The problem still remains of properly protecting the biological systems from the toxic effects of the lanthanides, but progress is being made in that direction.

Though I had some loose knowledge of the lanthanides, the specifics of their toxicity and reactivity (specifically the replacement of calcium with gadolinium due to their similar ionic radii) was new to me. Furthermore, the possibility that lanthanides could be used to catalyze organic reactions in aqueous solutions I found fascinating. Finally, though knowledge of NMR is common, the rehearsal of that as it related to the actual MRI scanning process helped me to better understand how the images are taken and interpreted.

Overall, the lecture and topic were both interesting and good. I look forward to updates on the future of this research.

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