CHEMIA NEWSLETTER April 2015
CHEMIA NEWSLETTER April 2015 Chemistry Recently in chemistry: • • Bacterial infections are responsible for the deaths of nearly 2 million individuals around the world, and their economic, rapid, and sensitive detection remains elusive. Several weeks ago however, a team of Chinese chemists successfully developed a silicon-based chip adsorbed with silver nanoparticles and 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA) that was able to simultaneously capture, detect, and inactivate bacteria. The boronic acid group of 4-MPBA allows the peptidoglycan walls of bacteria to reversibly bind, allowing bacterial capture for diagnosis. Bacteria were successfully adsorbed onto the surface of the chip and when surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was performed, it was possible for the bacteria to be distinguished. In their experiments, it was possible to detect and distinguish E. coli from S. aureus, two clinically important species of bacteria. They further demonstrated the antibacterial activity of the SERS chip by observing that almost 97% of bacteria on its surface were no longer present after 24 hours even in the fixed bacterial concentration of the surrounding media. Due to the presence of rival chips, further clinical analysis is necessary to realize the full potential of these spectroscopic and materials techniques.1 An international team of scientists led by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency has successfully determined the ionization energy of element 103, lawrencium (Lr). For extremely heavy atoms such as the actinides where relativistic effects become predominant, the energies of p orbitals can split, as demonstrated by its predicted electron configuration of [Rn]5f14 7s2 7p1/21. Lawrencium atoms were first generated by firing a beam of 11B atoms into a thin mass of 249Cf and generating 256Lr, which were then reacted with sublimated CdI2 gas and vaporized to form 256Lr+. Using a series of calculations, they indirectly arrived at an experimental value of 4.96(+0.08,-0.07) eV. Ab initio coupled cluster methods were carried out with multiple corrections, taking into account relativistic effects and higher-order perturbations. Through this method, they obtained a theoretical value of 4.963(15) eV, which is in excellent agreement with the experimental value. This approach welcomes further studies of more exotic and heavier atoms.2 • 1 The mystery of the origin of life ticks closer to elucidation as Patel, et al. demonstrate that the reductive homologation of HCN and certain derivatives can form amino acids, ribonucleotides, and lipids, all of which form the basis of life as we know it. Starting with HCN and ultraviolet light, the scientists were able to generate a plethora of building blocks such as glyceraldehyde and acetone in certain minimal conditions, precursors to biological molecules such as amino acids. It is also suspected that copper and iron play critical roles in abiogenesis, because of the ease with which their oxidation states can change, in conjunction with H2S serving as a reducing agent. Their experiments hinge on the assumption that HCN was generated through meteoric impacts during the Hadean eon roughly 4 billion years ago. In any case, the mechanism for how life originated on Earth requires a closer look at exactly what the Hadean environment on Earth was like, and the plausibility of certain chemical events during that time.3 1) Wang, H., et al. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 1-6. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201412294 2) Sato, T.K., et al. Nature. 2015, 520, 09 April 2015, 209-11. DOI: 10.1038/nature14342 3) Patel, B.H., et al. Nat. Chem. 2015, 7, 16 March 2015, 301-7. DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2202 CHEMIA NEWSLETTER April 2015 Chemistry BU Chemia News & Events: • Free tutoring every Monday 5-‐7pm in SCI 294 and Thursday 6-‐8pm in SCI 296! BU Chemistry: • Monday Colloquium Series: • Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi (University of California, Berkeley), Biooorthogonal Chemistry for Glycoprofiling and Beyond, hosted by Prof. Adrian Whitty • Prof. Elizabeth Kujawinski (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute), Environmental Metabolomics: Earth Science from a Different Point of View • April 14, 4-‐5 pm in SCI 512: Prof. Ramon Gomez Arrayas (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid), A New Tool for Selectivity Control in C-‐H Activation and Alkyne Metalation • BU Chemia extends a warm welcome to Dr. Arturo José Vegas, who will join the Department on July 1 as an Assistant Professor! Dr. Vegas received his Ph.D from Harvard University working under Prof. Stuart Schreiber, where he adapted already existing synthetic chemistry pathways toward diversity-oriented synthesis, to novel pathways oriented toward clinical impact for cancer treatments. Dr. Vegas then underwent postdoctoral training with Prof. Robert Langer at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and at the Boston Children’s Hospital, where among many other accomplishments he developed libraries to facilitate siRNA delivery, with potential for cancer treatment. Dr. Vegas arrives at BU as the co-author of over 20 publications and co-inventor of 8 patent applications, and also as the scientific founder of Preceres LLC (http://www.preceres.com/) and his lab at BU will aim to develop novel targeting therapeutics and delivery systems for selective cancer chemotherapy, immunomodulation, and diabetic immunosuppression, as well as the general development of targeted carriers to treat multiple diseases. Welcome Prof. Vegas! • 2 Prof. Mark Grinstaff delivered the inaugural Charles DeLisi Award and Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, April 2. The lecture was titled “Clinically Informed Biomaterial Design and Engineering”, and explored his two-decade-long development of new devices and materials for clinical applications. Prof. Grinstaff was selected in recognition of his outstanding contributions both as an academic researcher and as the head of four companies bringing his ideas to fruition with products. For more information about Prof. Grinstaff’s inumerous achievements and advances in his many fields, so Chemia encourages everyone to visit Prof. Grinstaff’s lab page at http://people.bu.edu/mgrin/ , as well as his many publications and company websites. CHEMIA NEWSLETTER April 2015 Chemistry Chemia Board: Chemia Tutors (include Board): Evan Gardner – President [email protected] Tessa Colameta – Vice President [email protected] Christopher Neil – Treasurer [email protected] Kelly Demeo – Secretary [email protected] Katie Boule [email protected] Hrishi Somayaji – Co-‐Newsletter Guy [email protected] Prof. John Snyder – Advisor [email protected], SCI 273 Steven Ahn (Co-‐Newsletter Guy), [email protected] Blake Jardin, [email protected] Morgan Myers, [email protected] Dan Smith, [email protected] Chloe Wendell, [email protected] http://www.physics.purdue.edu/~sergei/Photosynthesis Happy spring to all, enjoy the weather! 3
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