Faculty Bibliography

A short, monodisperse oligoethylene glycol-containing photocleavable lysine tag was developed to facilitate the efficient purification of hydrophobic and fibril-forming peptides. This new tag was used to prepare a modified Aβ₄₂ peptide with increased solubility and decreased propensity to aggregate in aqueous media. The solubilising tag was readily removed by irradiation with UV light and permitted the preparation and isolation of Aβ₄₂ in high purity and yield.

A new palladium mediated "one pot" synthesis of thioamides from aromatic carboxylic acids (ArCO₂H + RNCS → ArC(S)NHR + CO₂) was discovered by gas-phase experiments and theoretical studies. Palladium-mediated decarboxylation of aromatic carboxylic acids followed by addition of substituted isothiocyanates leads to the corresponding thioamide derivatives.

A series of [Re(i)L(CO)₃]⁺ complexes (where L is a bifunctional bis(NHC)-amine ligand) that are analogues of potential Tc-99m diagnostic imaging agents for Alzheimer's disease have been synthesised. One of the complexes bound to amyloid plaques in human frontal cortex brain tissue from subjects with Alzheimer's disease.

Two "small" 22- and 24-membered exo-alcohol functionalised pyridyl macrocycles are exploited in the CuAAC active-template synthesis of [2]rotaxanes. The 24-membered macrocycle forms [2]rotaxanes in good yields while the smaller 22-membered macrocycle does not lead to interlocked products.