Structure and Function in Foldamers with Heterogeneous Backbones

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With this award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor Samuel H. Gellman, of the Chemistry Department at University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. This research will involve investigations of structure and function in foldamers with heterogeneous backbones. Foldamers are oligomeric molecules that adopt well-defined conformations. These studies will increase our understanding of the ways in which noncovalent interactions within a molecule promote specific and stable molecular shapes. A key goal is to identify new foldamer backbones, and new design principles that will lead to novel unprecedented foldamers. Foldamer development provides an opportunity to probe relationships between local and global conformation-directing forces, thus offering fundamental insights on the origins of molecular shape preferences. In addition, the distinctive properties of foldamers provide new opportunities for the design of molecules with useful catalytic functions.The analysis of known foldamers and the development of new ones provides excellent training for young scientists, because such research requires mastery of multiple skills, including organic synthesis, conformational analysis via a variety of methods, and assessment and refinement of foldamer function. Foldamer research requires students to integrate these skills in unprecedented ways. The complexity of this research area involves collaboration with other laboratories, which enhances student training.