PI: Andrew Gellman
University: Carnegie Mellon University
Industry Partner: Leybold USA Inc.
Chiral molecules have a ‘handedness’ to their molecular structure. They lack mirror symmetry and have what is known as dissymmetry, the property of existing in two forms (enantiomers) that that have the same atomic connectivity, but are non-superimposable. The pharmacology of chiral pharmaceuticals is highly dependent on their specific chirality; i.e. left- or right-handedness. Ingestion of the right-handed enantiomer of a chiral drug can be therapeutic, while ingestion of the left-handed enantiomer can be toxic. Chirality can also influence the properties of polymers formed from mixtures of chiral monomers. Thus, achieving enantiopurity and controlling the chirality of molecules undergoing chemical processing is critical to their ultimate performance in various applications. This proposed project uses a method developed by the PI to measure the retention of chirality in reactions of one chiral molecule into another [1]. The work to be conducted in this proposed project will establish whether and how catalytic acceleration of the rate also impacts chirality retention. In addition to relevance to pharmaceuticals synthesis, this work is of relevance to companies such as Leybold Corp. that have interests in sensors for applications such as detecting chirality. Leybold Corp. has been collaborating with Prof. Gellman and Dr. Shukla for last 6 years. They have donated equipment to Prof. Gellman’s group. In addition, Leybold Corp. regularly have 3-4 visits per year in CMU. They have also sponsored a room in Scott Institute at CMU. Finally, Leybold Corp. are working in having CMU students as summer interns at Leybold.