A Valparaiso University chemistry professor and his students are working to develop an improved method of synthesizing carbon rings that are essential components of thousands of organic molecules used by humans.
Dr. Kevin Jantzi, assistant professor of chemistry, has worked with eight Valparaiso undergraduates since starting the project three years ago and received a $40,000 grant from the American Chemical Society's Petroleum Research Fund last year to support the research effort. Valparaiso is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research.
Dr. Jantzi and his students are exploring whether different starting materials can be used in a synthetic reaction that produces the 5-membered carbon rings that are key components of numerous organic molecules such as cholesterol, vitamin D and Indinavir, a compound used to treat HIV and AIDS.
“Because of the extreme significance of molecules like these, it is imperative that organic chemists develop synthetic reactions that can be used to generate ring structures,” Dr. Jantzi said.
Specifically, the Valparaiso researchers are exploring the use of Trimethylenemethane intermediates in synthesizing the rings and looking to expand this use through novel starting materials that can generate more complex and highly functionalized ring-containing products than current methods. Over the past three years, Dr. Jantzi and his students have found methods to synthesize the new starting materials and are beginning to test whether these materials work in the ring-forming reaction.
“If we're successful, we can make this reaction more versatile so that more people can make use of it in creating a more diverse array of organic molecules,” Dr. Jantzi said.
Among the students conducting research with Dr. Jantzi is Patrick Long, a senior chemistry major from Florissant, Mo., who began working on the project in the fall of 2006.
“I was in Dr. Jantzi's organic chemistry class and really enjoyed learning about organic synthesis, so this project was right up my alley,” Long said.