CAREER: An Integrated Program of Research Focused on Understanding Chiral Recognition of Branched Amino Acid Based Molecular Micelles, Mentorship, Outreach, & Faculty Develop

来自德州农工大学科珀斯克里斯蒂分校的Eugene Billiot教授受到化学学部分析和表面化学项目的支持，研究和阐明了手性识别的因素，这些因素是专门为毛细管电泳中用作手性假固定相而设计的。重点是开发和表征手性氨基酸表面活性剂（分子胶束）用于对映体分离。为了加快发现过程，分子模型被用于开发定量的结构-性质关系，可用于评估新材料作为手性选择器的有效性，并更好地了解这些材料上的手性区分在哪里以及如何发生。教育组成部分的总体目标是：(1)通过早期参与科学研究，增加代表性不足和经济困难的学生追求科学事业的人数；(2)增加本科生参与当地K-12学校的社区外展；(3)通过举办一系列研讨会和讲习班来促进教师的发展，旨在帮助“新”教师成为更有效的教师、研究人员和导师。许多重要的药物是手性的，在许多情况下，已知这两种立体异构体具有不同的生物活性。因此，人们对开发改进的手性分离方法非常感兴趣。

Professor Eugene Billiot of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division to investigate and elucidate the factors responsible for chiral recognition with media specifically designed for use as chiral pseudostationary phases in capillary electrophoresis. The focus is to develop and characterize chiral amino acid-based surfactants (molecular micelles) for use in enantiomeric separarations. To expedite the discovery process, molecular modeling is used to develop quantitative structure-property relationships that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the new materials as chiral selectors and to gain a better understanding of where and how chiral discrimination takes place on these materials. The overall objectives of the educational components are, (1) to increase the number of underrepresented and economically challenged students pursuing careers in science through early involvement of undergraduates in scientific research, (2) to increase the participation of undergraduate students in community outreach to the local K-12 schools, and (3) to facilitate faculty development by conducting a series of seminars and workshops designed to help "new" faculty become more effective teachers, researchers, and mentors.A large number of important pharmaceuticals are chiral, and in many cases the two stereoisomers are known to have different biological activity. There is thus considerable interest in developing improved methods for chiral separations.