Anion and molecular recognition
Design and synthesis of porphyrin based receptors
Design and synthesis of sensors for anions of biomedical and environmental relevance
Separation science
Computational chemistry
Research is a necessary component for the training of any student in chemistry (or science in general). Research helps a student understand the content and relevance of lecture material, it provides them the necessary skills to succeed in a scientific career and it is one of the most effective means of engaging and retaining a student in a STEM field. Training students in the art of research should start as early as possible (their freshman year or even while in high school). I have had high school students conduct research in my labs as part of the ACS-SEED program. Each semester, there are typically 4-5 undergraduate students (freshman year and beyond) and 4-5 Masters thesis students under my research guidance. Chemistry majors can count 6 credits of research (Chem 418 or 497) towards their degree.
My research is primarily in the area of molecular recognition. The majority of the work centers on the utilization of porphyrins to develop synthetic hosts for chiral and non-chiral anionic and neutral guests. We also are working to better understand the nature of the halogen-bonding interaction. Our work is fundamental in nature aimed at understanding basic molecular and molecule-ion interactions. Most recently, much of our research efforts are aimed at developing chiral porphyrins. Although we utilize these compounds to study molecular recognition phenomena, the ultimate goals of these research efforts are different; the results of this research should aid in developing more selective catalysts for chiral and non-chiral reactions (since molecular recognition is at the heart of many catalytic reactions), developing new materials (many modern materials are constructed through self-assembly interactions which is a molecular recognition event). The work also contributes to a better understanding of biological interactions, much of which are molecular recognition events. The research in my group is multidisciplinary. Students in the group gain skills in synthetic organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and computational chemistry.
Research students in my group are trained in moderately complex synthetic organic chemistry techniques and the use of instrumentation (NMR (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR including DEPT, 19F-NMR, 2D-NMR such as COSYand HETCOR), UV/Vis, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopy, HD-Mass Spectrometry and polarimetry) and computational chemistry (Spartan and Gaussian software packages on a Beowulf cluster). All research students in the group will be trained to use these instruments and will be expected to conduct their own experiments on the instruments.
Students in the group have ample opportunity to present their research. Each year the chemistry department provides for students to present at the regional meeting of the ACS, the annual Texas A&M System Pathways Symposium, the TAMU-C annual research symposium and the local ACS Meeting in Miniature symposium. We also aim to attend national meetings of the ACS as well as international conferences such as the International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry and the International Symposium on Chirality.
Biomedical applications of my research—A major research goal of my group is the development of synthetic receptors for anions such as phosphate derivatives (nucleotides, DNA, RNA for example), carboxylates, halides (chloride, fluoride), and amino acids (through carboxylate recognition). The development of receptors for these analytes has diagnostic applications in the monitoring of cellular processes. The group is also focused on the design of receptors that serve as carriers for the membrane transport of anions such as nucleotides and chloride. Receptors that function in this way could find therapeutic applications in the treatment of cystic fibrosis (a disease characterized by defective chloride channel proteins) and viral diseases (via the membrane transport of nucleotide antiviral agents). In general, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of biological molecular recognition events through the study of our synthetic systems.
Environmental applications—There are several anionic species of environmental concern such as radioactive pertechnetate, which is a by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle, and nitrate, which is present in large quantities in radioactive tank wastes and has been implicated in high incidences of lymphoma when present in large quantities in groundwater. My group is interested in the development of receptors that can detect the presence of these species and that can serve as extraction and transport agents for the removal of these and other anionic environmental contaminants.
Synthesis applications—Numerous reagents utilized in organic synthesis are anionic in nature. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, numerous reactions proceed through anionic transition states. Receptors for anionic reagents, intermediates, and transition states could be used to direct the course of or catalyze reactions involving these species. My group is developing receptors that serve as supramolecular chiral auxiliaries and catalysts for asymmetric synthetic transformations such as Aldol and Michael type reactions.
Post doc, Molecular Recognition, The Scripps Research Institute,
La Jolla, California, 1998-2000
Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, Texas Tech University,
Lubbock, Texas, 1998
B.S., Chemistry, Texas Tech University, 1993
CHEM 107 - Survey of General Chemistry
CHEM 108 - Survey of Organic and Biochemistry
CHEM 201 - Organic Problem Solving I
CHEM 211 - Organic Chemistry
CHEM 212 - Organic Chemistry
CHEM 513 - Organic Mechanisms and Structure
Chem 1411, 1412- US-General/Quant Chemistry I & II
Chem 515- Organic synthesis
Chem 527- Chemical and Biochemical Characteristic Methods I
Chem 529- Chemistry Workshop
Undergraduate Honors Thesis
Chair:
Masters Theses Directed
Starnes, S.D.;Birney, D. M. "Parallel Combinatorial Esterification: An Experiment for the Second Semester Organic Chemistry Laboratory", accepted, Chemical Education Resources: Modular Laboratory Program in Chemistry.
Starnes, S. D.; Arungundram, S.; Saunders, C. H. "Anion Sensors Basedon b,b'-Disubstituted Porphyrin Derivatives,"Tetrahedron Letters, 2002, 43,7785.
Headley, A. D.; Starnes, S. D., "Conformational analysis of a-trifluoroalanine: a theoretical study," J. Mol. Struct. (THEOCHEM), 2001,572, 1-3, 89-95.
Starnes, S. D.; Rudkevich, D. M.; Rebek, J. Jr. "Cavitand-Porphyrins," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 4659-4669.
Starnes, S.D.; Rudkevich, D.M.; Rebek, J., Jr. "A Cavitand-Porphyrin Hybrid," Org. Lett., 2000, 2, 1995-1998.
Headley, A.D.; Starnes, S.D. "Ab Initio Study of Anomeric Effect In 2,2-Difluoroglycine," J. Mol. Struct. (THEOCHEM), 2000, 507, 281-287.
Lutzen, A.; Starnes, S.D.; Rudkevich, D.M.; Rebek, J., Jr. "A Self-Assembled Phthalocyanine Dimer," Tetrahedron Lett., 2000, 41, 20,3777-3780.
Headley, A.D.; Starnes, S.D., "Theoretical Analysis of Fluoroglycine Conformers," J. Comput. Chem., 2000, 21, 6, 426-431.
Birney, D.M.; Starnes, S.D., "Parallel Combinatorial Esterification; A Simple Experiment for Use in the Second Semester Organic Chemistry Laboratory," J. Chem. Ed., 1999, 76, 11, 1560-1561.
Headley, A.D.; Starnes, S.D. "Association of p-Toluyldimethylglycine in Water," J. Phys. Org. Chem. 1999, 12, 290-292.
Headley, A.D.; Starnes, S.D., "Theoretical Studies of the Gas Phase Tautomerization of Sarcosine," J. Mol. Struct. (THEOCHEM), 1999, 467, 2, 95-101.