Catalysis and molecular recognition

了解分子中将原子结合在一起的键的性质，从该领域的最早期起就一直是化学家的主要目标。然而，第二种类型的相互作用对于理解化学行为同样重要：这些是“分子间相互作用”，即分子之间的作用力。所有涉及成对或成组分子接触的现象--例如，液态水的行为，或药物分子与其靶点的结合--都受到这些力的影响。我们的研究旨在理解和利用分子间的相互作用。 我们使用硼化合物和糖之间的相互作用作为新型化学反应的基础。硼化合物以可预测的选择性结合到糖中的特定位点。在这项发现资助的支持下，我们的目标是利用这种结合来触发特定位置的糖的化学反应。这种反应将提供快速有效地制备在细胞-细胞和细胞-病原体相互作用中起关键作用的复杂的含碳水化合物分子的方法，从而促进基于碳水化合物的生物化学工具和治疗剂的开发。此外，我们还将开发用于从糖衍生物制备聚合物（塑料）的硼基工艺。碳水化合物衍生的聚合物不仅基于丰富的可再生原料，而且它们还具有生物可降解性和无毒性，这是生物医学和药物递送应用的关键优势。 我们研究计划的另一个目标是获得对卤素（氯，溴和碘）和硫属元素（硫和相关元素）的分子间相互作用的基本见解。我们将设计和合成分子，使我们能够确定这些相互作用的强度。这类信息对于了解它们如何应用于药物设计，材料科学和化学反应性至关重要。 谁进行这项研究的学生将建立在有机合成（如何设计，执行和优化化学反应，以制备碳基化合物）的专业知识，同时通过接触到聚合物化学的技术和概念，沿着分析和计算方法扩大他们的培训。这些技能将使他们在广泛的行业中就业，包括制药，生物技术，农业化学和聚合物化学行业。

Understanding the nature of the bonds that hold atoms together in molecules has been a primary goal of chemists since the earliest days of the field. However, a second type of interaction is equally important to understanding chemical behavior: these are 'intermolecular interactions', the forces that act between molecules. All phenomena that involve pairs or groups of molecules in contact - for example, the behavior of liquid water, or the binding of a drug molecule to its target - are influenced by these forces. Our research is aimed at understanding and exploiting intermolecular interactions. We use interactions between boron compounds and sugars as the basis for new types of chemical reactions. Boron compounds bind with predictable selectivity to particular sites in sugars. Supported by this Discovery Grant, we aim to use this type of binding to trigger chemical reactions of sugars at specific positions. Such reactions will provide ways to rapidly and efficiently prepare the complex, carbohydrate-containing molecules that play key roles in cell-cell and cell-pathogen interactions, thus facilitating the development of carbohydrate-based biochemical tools and therapeutic agents. In addition, we will develop boron-based processes for the preparation of polymers (plastics) from sugar derivatives. Not only are carbohydrate-derived polymers based on abundant, renewable feedstocks, but they are also biodegradable and non-toxic, key advantages for biomedical and drug delivery applications. The other goal of our research program is to gain fundamental insight into poorly understood intermolecular interactions of the halogens (chlorine, bromine and iodine) and chalcogens (sulfur and related elements). We will design and synthesize molecules that allow us to determine the strengths of these interactions. This type of information is crucial for understanding how they can be applied in drug design, materials science and chemical reactivity. The students who carry out this research will build expertise in organic synthesis (how to design, execute and optimize chemical reactions to prepare carbon-based compounds), while broadening their training through exposure to the techniques and concepts of polymer chemistry, along with analytical and computational methods. This skill set will position them strongly for employment in a wide range of sectors, including in the pharmaceutical, biotech, agrochemical and polymer chemistry industries.