This opportunity is for Caltech students only
Non-Caltech students will be considered
Not indicated by sponsor

Project Title: Develop Imprinting Polymerization Strategies

Project Description:

This project is experimental and laboratory in nature. It involves chemical synthesis and physical characterication of organic and polymeric compounds. HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) will be the major tool used in this project.
The general problem to be addressed is: Can inexpensive, robust adsorbent materials be developed to separate pharmaceutically important chiral amino alcohols and similar compounds?
The objective of the project is to develop new high fidelity imprinting polymerization strategies to make high selectivity and inexpensive chiral adsorbents for chiral separations.

Background Information:

Chiral purity is very important in pharmaceuticals. Many chiral amino alcohols are important drugs. Current techniques for chiral separation of these biochemicals are not satisfactory. In this research project, a template polymerization approach, based on metal coordination, will be applied to make a new class of adsorbent materials that promise high selectivity and low costs for chiral ligand-exchange separations of chiral amino alcohols.

Literature references or articles that may provide more information on the project:

1(a) P.K. Dhal and F.H. Arnold, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 113, 7417-7418 (1991); (b) P.K. Dhal and F.H. Arnold, Macromolecules 25, 7051-7059 (1992)
2. G. Wulff, In Polymeric Reagents and Catalysts, W. Ford, Ed., ACS Symposium Series 308, American Chemical Society: Washington, D.C., 1986; pp. 186-230
3. V.A. Davankov, J. Chromatogr. 666, 55-76 (1994) and earlier references cited therein

Requirements (skills, specific coursework, academic major, year in school, etc.):

Skills: Basic chemical and analytical lab skills
Coursework: Organic chemistry and/or polymer chemistry would be helpful
Major: Ch, ChE
Year: So., Jr., Sr.

Research Sponsor Name: Frances Arnold
E-Mail: guohua@macpost.caltech.edu
Division: CCE
Telephone: (818) 395-4162
Address: M/C 210-41

For further information, contact Dr. G. Chen, X-4553

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