News

In a recent publication (Tantillo, Sarpong and coworkers, JACS, DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b05804), results from calculations carried out by Stephanie Hare in the Tantillo lab shed light on the origins of selectivity for a synthetically useful carbocation rearrangement developed by the Sarpong lab at UCB.

Cholangocarcinoma is a highly prevalent form of cancer in Southeast Asia and primarily Thailand. It is caused by eating a river fish infected with a liver fluke that may eventually cause a form of liver cancer. A recent publication in the journal Oncogene (Nature Press) by collaborators in the Khon Kaen School of Medicine in Thailand and UC Davis Chemistry showed that metastasis is mediated by O-GlcNAcylation, a post-translational modification of proteins, through the proteins FOXO3 and MAN1A1.

Gas absorption calorimetry was customized to determine the energetics of H2O and CO2 absorption on zeolite A as a function of loading from near zero coverage to saturation, Results provide clear thermodynamic evidence of structural flexibility induced by guest molecules and identify different

Ting Guo’s new book, “X-ray Nanochemistry”, has been published. The book describes X-ray nanochemistry as a discipline and all the recent developments in this exciting field. To read, please visit https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319780023 and click “Read this book on SpringerLink” (access provided by UC Davis Libraries).

A combined effort between the Larsen and Lagarias labs resolved the underlying heterogeneity of the photocycle initiation dynamics of the Cph1 phytochrome photoreceptor that strongly affects kinetics, absorption, fluorescence, and quantum yields (both photochemical and fluorescent) and implicates how structural rearrangements can affects in vivo function.

In a recent publication, Daniel Walters, Xian Powers and others in the Balch/Olmstead group have prepared a novel, photoluminescent molecular cage that is entirely constructed from non-luminescent components.   In its crystalline form, the resulting molecular "box" suspends an anionic guest, a chloride ion, inside.  Crystals of the box change when subject to mechanical force, which causes their rearrangement into an isomeric helicate dimer that uses the original guest as a bridge between tw

Ganglioside antigens expressed by human cancer cells and are attractive but challenging synthetic targets. In a recent publication, (Chen and coworkers, Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2018) describes a highly efficient streamlined chemoenzymatic process for total synthesis of synthetically challenging complex gangliosides.

In a recent publication, (Power and coworkers, Journal of the American Chemistry Society, 2018) describes a C-H Activation by a low-valent tin. EPR measurements indicates the presence of a one-coordinate RE : radical as the intermediate. This shows the first example of a C-H bond metathesis carried out under mild condition by Tin. This new class of low-coordinate tin radical may facilitate further exploration into practical applications of C-H activation by earth-abundant-metal catalysts. 

In a recent publication (Bernard and coworkers, Inorganic Chemistry, 2018) the Kauzlarich lab describes the synthesis and characterization of Ge nanoparticles made in a mixed solvent system. Using NMR, they demonstrated that both solvents are acting as capping ligands and that the solvent ratio impacts the nanoparticle’s crystallinity and size.

More information at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.8b00334

Ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian tisane used in religious and healing ceremonies, contains a complex mixture of psychoactive natural products.  The Olson Lab has recently discovered that N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the principal hallucinogenic alkaloid in this concoction, produces antidepressant effects in rodents and reduces fear in an animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  This work highlights the potential for using psychedelics and related compounds for treating neuropsychiatric disorders.