NSF Award
9708166
The Organic Dynamics Program and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate support Professor Richard H. Smith, Jr., of the Department of Chemistry of Western Maryland College, for his mechanistic investigations of the proteolysis of mono- and bis-triazenes. With his Research in Undergraduate Institutions award, Professor Smith seeks to develop a clearer understanding of the mechanism of proteolytic decomposition of the major classes of triazenes, an important family of anti-cancer drugs. He uses a kinetic method to measure the component constants that determine the overall rate at which triazenes decompose to produce their active principle, an alkyldiazonium ion. These data provide information about the basicities of all the major classes of triazenes and will lead to the development of a computational model of the key decomposition reaction, facilitating the future design of new triazene-based anti-tumor drugs. Two new classes of triazenes, bis-triazenes and bis-triazolines, are effective DNA crosslinking agents and may form the basis of a new family of anti-cancer drugs. Professor Richard H. Smith, Jr., of the Department of Chemistry of Western Maryland College, carries out investigations of the synthesis and reaction chemistry of triazenes with the support of a Research in Undergraduate Institutions award from the Organic Dynamics Program and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate. Triazenes, a class of molecules bearing in common the structural motif of three nitrogen atoms connected in a row, form the basis of an important group of anti-cancer drugs. By studying the influence of their detailed chemical structure on the reaction chemistry of these compounds, Professor Smith sheds light on the fundamental mechanisms by which they act. In addition, this information is leading to the development of a computational model which is expected to facilitate the future design of new triazene-based anti-tumor drugs.
