CHEMIA NEWSLETTER April 2015 Chemistry
Recently in chemistry:
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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 •
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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!
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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