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Polymer chemistry, dendrimers, combinatorial chemistry and solid phase synthesis Our research efforts are targeted integrating aspects of polymer chemistry and organic chemistry. Students in the research group are members of the organic chemistry division but their work involves the use of materials with high molecular weight. Uses of solid phase NMR, IR and MALDI- TOF MS are all part of the analyses of problems and robotic synthesis is part of our approach. Dendrimers are highly branched polymers of a single molecular weight and structure. Our group has developed a synthesis of polyurethane dendrimers and is in the process of applying it to a series of problems in phase behavior, thin films and unique polymers. More efficient routes to such dendrimers with various functional groups is under way. The use of polymers to enhance the rapid synthesis of a library of molecules using combinatorial chemistry is our other focus. The application of polystyrene-bound silicon reagents is under investigation as well as the use of silica as a solid phase with defined pore sizes. We also have a program designed to introduce principles of combinatorial chemistry to the instructional lab. References 1. R.T. Taylor, T. Kamolratanayothin, J. Shah, and J.W. Green,"Substitution Reactions on Poly(chlorotrifluoroethylene)," Proceedings of the PMSE of the ACS, 1996, 75, 138.2. Richard T. Taylor and Uraiwan Puapaiboon, "Polyurethane Dendrimers via Curtius Reaction," Tetrahedron Lett., 1998, 39, 8005. 3. Uraiwan Puapaiboon and Richard T. Taylor, "Characterization and Monitoring Reaction of Polyurethane Dendritic Wedges and Dendrimers Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry," Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 1999, 13, 508. 4. Uraiwan Puapaiboon, Richard T. Taylor, and Jaran Jai-nhukhnan, "Structural Confirmation of Polyurethane Dendritic Wedges and Dendrimers Using Post Source Decay Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry," Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 1999, 13, 516. |
