Novel Approaches to Modifications of Nucleosides and Related Heterocycles

通过这个奖项，美国国家科学基金会化学部的化学合成项目支持了纽约城市学院化学与生物化学系Mahesh K. Lakshman教授的研究。拉克什曼教授正在与研究生和本科生合作，研究修改核苷的方法，核苷是构成DNA和RNA的分子。修饰核苷很重要，因为它们被用于医学应用，作为植物细胞生长刺激剂，以及作为理解生物过程的探针。核苷由两个相连的部分组成：一个糖和一个碱基对。这个程序的重点是确定如何使用温和的氧化剂来改变碱基对的结构，并将碱基对连接到核苷的糖部分。由于核苷有许多活性部分，这些研究正在确定如何控制修饰过程以获得单一产物。这项工作还建立了对温和氧化剂与核苷反应性的基本认识。拉克什曼教授的研究小组在种族和性别上都很多样化，这有助于未来劳动力的多样性。这些学生在计划、发展和执行化学反应方面获得了专业的实践经验，以及团队合作、口头和书面传播科学信息和沟通能力等软技能。拉克什曼教授参与了重要的研究基础设施建设和推广活动，后者为年轻学生提供了科学方面的实践经验。它还允许家长与教师互动并了解科学的作用，这有助于更好地理解和感知科学，教育和研究及其对社会的影响。核苷是一类重要的生物分子，存在于所有生命系统中。修饰核苷已被开发用于控制癌症和病毒性疾病的医学目的，作为检测工具，以及作为生化和生物过程的探针。合成未知核苷结构的新方法的发展将为新的应用提供途径。Lakshman教授正在开发氧化偶联过程，以修饰嘌呤和嘧啶核苷，并将碱基对连接到糖上。这个项目正在使用碘试剂来实现这些转变，并正在应用基本的反应性研究来确定有助于预测选择性的趋势。由于这些化合物固有的反应性，这些研究正在克服核苷修饰的挑战。Lakshman教授的多元化研究小组包括所有教育水平的学生（博士，硕士，5年学士-硕士和学士）。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With this award, the Chemical Synthesis Program of the NSF Division of Chemistry is supporting the research of Professor Mahesh K. Lakshman in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The City College of New York. Professor Lakshman is working with graduate and undergraduate students to develop ways to modify nucleosides, which are molecules that are the building blocks of DNA and RNA. Modified nucleosides are important because they are used in medicinal applications, as plant cell growth stimulants, and as probes for understanding biological processes. Nucleosides consist of two linked parts: a sugar and a base pair. This program is focused on determining how to use a mild oxidant to change the structure of the base pair and to attach the base pair to the sugar portion of the nucleoside. Since nucleosides have many reactive parts, these studies are determining how to control the modification procedures to give a single product. This work is also establishing a fundamental understanding of the reactivity of mild oxidants with nucleosides. Professor Lakshman’s research group is ethnically and gender diverse, contributing to the diversity of the future workforce. These students obtain professional hands on experience in planning, developing, and performing chemical reactions, as well as soft skills such as teamwork, oral and written dissemination of scientific information, and communication abilities. Professor Lakshman has been associated with significant research infrastructure development and outreach activities, where the latter has providedyoung students with hands-on experience in science. It also allows for parents to interact with faculty and to understand the role of science, which serves to better a general understanding and perception of science, education, and research, and their impact on society.Nucleosides are an important class of biomolecule due to their presence in all living systems. Modified nucleosides have been developed for medicinal purposes in the control of cancer and viral diseases, as detection tools, and as probes of biochemical and biological processes. The development of new ways to synthesize unknown nucleoside structures will provide access to new applications. Professor Lakshman is developing oxidative coupling processes to modify purine and pyrimidine nucleosides and to connect base pairs to sugars. This project is using iodonium reagents to achieve these transformations and is applying fundamental reactivity studies to determine trends that will facilitate the prediction of selectivity. These studies are overcoming challenges with nucleoside modification due to the inherent reactivity of these compounds. Professor Lakshman’s diverse research group includes students at all educational levels (Ph.D., MS, 5-year BS-MS, and BS).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.