CAREER: Design of Colorimetric and Chiroptical Sensors for Illegal Substances

在美国国家科学基金会有机和大分子化学项目的支持下，内布拉斯加州克里特市多恩学院的安德里亚·霍姆斯教授将开发新的大分子颜色传感器，用于检测滥用麻醉品。霍姆斯教授是一名博士后研究助理，他和一个本科生研究团队将主要致力于设计手性药物（如可卡因和甲基苯丙胺）的传感器，方法是：1)从适配体（基于寡核苷酸的粘合剂）中开发分子颜色传感器，这种传感器在少量药物存在时改变颜色；2)测试圆二色性（CD）光谱作为一种鉴别经常被滥用的手性药物对映体的技术的利用，以及3)开发一种固体基质，使新的化学传感器能够附着在固体支架上，以便在实验室外的现场测试产品中实际使用。使用的有机合成和分析技术包括固相合成、结合常数的测定（紫外/可见和荧光光谱）、组合96孔板法、圆二色光谱和MALDI-TOF或电喷雾电离质谱法。将适体传感器结合到溶胶-凝胶中的探索反映了固相化学和固相化学的创造性共生关系。这项职业奖的结果将提高对非手性宿主和手性药物相互作用的理解，并开发对滥用麻醉品敏感和特异性的适配体-染料结构文库。这项工作最终可能会为法医科学家和其他人带来新的毒品检测工具。该项目将把该研究纳入以农村学生为主的有机化学本科课程，其中许多学生打算成为科学教师。参加研究小组的学生将为当地中学生提供课堂活动，并作为科学导师回到自己的高中。

With the support of the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program at the National Science Foundation, Professor Andrea Holmes of Doane College in Crete, Nebraska will develop new macromolecular color sensors for the detection of abused narcotics. Professor Holmes, a post-doctoral research associate, and an undergraduate research team will work primarily toward the design of sensors for chiral drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine by 1) developing molecular color sensors from aptamers (oligonucleotide-based binders) that change color in the presence of small quantities of drugs, 2) testing the utilization of circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy as a technique for discriminating between the enantiomers of chiral drugs that are often abused, and 3) developing a solid matrix that allows the new chemical sensors to be attached to a solid support for actual use outside the laboratory in a field test product. The organic synthetic and analytical techniques used include solid-phase synthesis, the determination of binding constants by UV/Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, combinatorial 96-well plate methods, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and MALDI-TOF or Electrospray Ionization mass spectrometry. The exploration of incorporating aptamer sensors into sol-gels reflects the creative symbiosis of solution phase and solid phase chemistry.Results from this CAREER award will provide an improved understanding of achiral host and chiral drug interactions and the development of a library of aptamer-dye structures that are sensitive and specific to abused narcotics. The work may eventually lead to new drug-detection tools for forensic scientists and others. The PI will integrate the research into undergraduate courses in organic chemistry in classes enrolling predominantly rural students, many of whom intend to become science teachers. Students participating on the research team will provide classroom activities for local middle school students and return to their own high schools as science mentors.