Tapping into Boron/α-Hydroxycarboxylic Acid Interactions in Sensing and Catalysis

Todd A. Houston; Stephan M. Levonis; Milton J. Kiefel

doi:10.1071/CH07222

RESEARCH FRONT

Previous Next Contents Vol 60(11)

Tapping into Boron/α-Hydroxycarboxylic Acid Interactions in Sensing and Catalysis

Todd A. Houston ^A ^B , Stephan M. Levonis ^A and Milton J. Kiefel ^A

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Institute for Glycomics, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222, Australia.

^B Corresponding author. Email: t.houston@griffith.edu.au

Todd A. Houston hails from Lamoni, Iowa, USA, and completed a Chemistry B.S. (cum laude) in his hometown at Graceland College in 1987. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1993 for work on the synthesis of steroidal glycosides with Professor Masato Koreeda. Following an NIH post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins with Professor Craig Townsend he began his independent career atVirginia Commonwealth University in 1996. In 2001, he moved to Griffith University where he is currently Senior Lecturer in the School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences and Research Leader at the Institute for Glycomics. In addition to work on boronâ€“carbohydrate interactions described here, he is interested in carbohydrate-based drugs (such as aminoglycosides and glycosidase inhibitors) for tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, and other diseases.

Stephan M. Levonis is originally from Gladstone, Queensland, and began his undergraduate career at Central Queensland University in Rockhampton in 2002 where he studied both chemistry and biomedical sciences as part of a B.Sc. He completed his B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry at Griffith University in 2006. His Honour's project involved the selective monoesterification of malonic acid and was conducted under the supervision of Dr Todd A. Houston. Currently he is studying as a Ph.D. student under supervision of both Dr Todd A. Houston and Dr Milton J. Kiefel at the Institute for Glycomics and is now working on the creation of agents for selective carbohydrate binding.

Milton J. Kiefel completed his Ph.D. in organic chemistry (natural products isolation and total synthesis) at The University of Melbourne in 1990, under the direction of Dr Melvyn Gill. During 1991 and 1992 he undertook a Postdoctoral position with Professor Gerald Pattenden FRS (University of Nottingham, UK), before returning to Australia in 1993 as a Research Fellow within the research group of Professor Mark von Itzstein at the Victorian College of Pharmacy (Monash University). In 2000 he was appointed as a lecturer at Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus) within the Institute for Glycomics, and in 2005 was promoted to Senior Lecturer. His research interests focus on the synthesis of novel carbohydrates and glycomimetics, as probes for carbohydrate-recognising proteins and as potential drug candidates. He also has an interest in the development of novel strategies for the synthesis of carbohydrates of biological interest.

Australian Journal of Chemistry 60(11) 811-815 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH07222
Submitted: 27 June 2007 Accepted: 13 August 2007 Published: 1 November 2007

Abstract

Whereas interaction of boron acids (boric and boronic) with diols and neutral sugar ligands has received much global research attention in recent years, the binding of simple α-hydroxycarboxylic and sugar acids by boron has received less attention. Applications of boron-based fluorescent sensors and chemoselective catalysts targeting this functional motif have appeared only in the past 5 years. The present synopsis will focus on rapid developments that have occurred in both areas during this half decade.

References

Tapping into Boron/α-Hydroxycarboxylic Acid Interactions in Sensing and Catalysis

Abstract

Subscriber Login