Research Overview

 

Metal Ion Caging, Metallochaperone Modeling &Fluoroscent sensors

The Burdette group has an interdisciplinary approach to research in chemistry. Student’s projects often will utilize organic, inorganic, polymer, analytical and biological chemistry to address frontier problems in science. Two main themes motivate our research: metal ion homeostasis and developing practical methods to detect and quantify metals and molecules. Homeostasis refers to the requirement for organisms to maintain healthy levels of metal ions. A deficiency or excess of a metal ion can have detrimental effects on the living process. We are interested particularly in homeostasis mechanisms in the brain since a number of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s have been linked to mishandling metal ions. To study these problems we are interested in developing fluorescent sensors for iron and caged complexes for zinc. These chemical tools will provide the means to study analytes like metal ions in living cells and tissues. We are also interested in using dendrimers to model the chemistry of proteins that are responsible for maintaining homeostasis by acting as chaperones, or delivery vehicles, for metals inside the cell. We also have a general interest in designing fluorescent sensors for analytes that are typically difficult to detect like anions and organic molecules. To this end, we have initiated work to develop sensors for amino acids, which are important neurotransmitters. In addition, we are interested in making sensors to detect nitrate in the environment introduced from agricultural sources. We are primarily a synthetic group, and all of our projects start with ligand design and preparation; however, we are ultimately interested in how these organic molecule and inorganic complexes behave, so our work also involves spectroscopic characterization and application of our compounds. In addition to standard methods of characterizing chemical compounds like NMR, IR, X-ray crystallography and mass spectroscopy, we also utilize UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, electrochemistry, EPR and confocal microscopy to elucidate the properties and functions of our molecules. The approach to chemistry allows students to learn many different skills and techniques, and carry a project from the design stage to practical application. For more information about specific projects, click on the links above.