We  seek to develop reagents and methods for chemoselective derivatization  of complex biological mixtures, such as exhaled breath or tissue  extracts.  Our work toward identifying markers of lung cancer, for  example, features a silicon microreactor containing thousands of  micropillars coated with an aminooxy reagent that selectively captures  carbonyl metabolites for quantification. 

Lung Cancer 2015, 90, 92

Analytical Methods 2015, 7, 6027

Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry 2014, 406, 4371 

Cancer Medicine 2014, 3, 174

Sensors and Actuators 2013, 180, 130

Metabolomics 2012, 8, 989 

We  also are interested in developing magnetic nanoparticles to serve as  triggerable carriers of small molecules.  This work aims to exploit  application of an alternating magnetic field to induce local  hyperthermia that, in turn, powers small molecule release.  Research  efforts here are devoted to preparation of functionalized lipid-,  silica- and gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles.

Langmuir 2015, 31, 3326

Tetrahedron 2014, 70, 3422

In  the course of preparing targets or fitting nanoparticles with custom  linkers, we often uncover unexpected reactivity that leads us to pursue  synthetic projects only tangentially related to the two principal  thrusts described above.  For example, we recently solved how to  selectively isolate xylose from distillers dried grains, how to prepare  oxime ether lipids for optimal siRNA delivery, how to use mass spectral  fragmentations as a tool for quantifying analytes in multiplexed  samples, and how to convert aldehydes to nitriles in one pot.  Organic  synthesis is a joy!

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2015, 3, 2452
Nanomedicine 2015, 10, 2805
Analytical Methods 2013, 5, 4701
Journal of Organic Chemistry 2012, 77, 9334

Samples of our past work….