Session: Undergraduate Research at the Frontiers of Inorganic Chemistry:

In the field of chemistry, the interactions between biological compounds, such as the heme unit, and nitric oxide (NO) are thoroughly studied and researched. However, there is much more to be learned from molecules that have the ability to generate NO within a biological system. One such NO donor is hydroxamic acid – a compound utilized in the pharmaceutical industry. This project studies the interactions between molecules that donate nitric oxide, and synthetic ruthenium-metal based models of the heme unit. The focus of this research is to understand the redox behavior of the reactions between these compounds through the use of electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical techniques. It is important to understand and learn more about the interactions between organic nitric oxide-donating molecules and heme-containing biomolecules due to their abundance in biological structures. Additionally, this project may potentially provide insight to unknown side-effects of hydroxamic acid-containing medications.

Alice L Erman

Undergraduate Researcher

Appearances