Reactive Intermediates

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

With this renewal award the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Dr. Maitland Jones in the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. The aim of the work is to investigate the chemistry of reactive organic intermediates including carbenes, cycloalkynes, and diradicals. Examples are trans-2,3-dimethylcyclopropylcarbene, cyclopentyne, and 1,4-diradicals from the photolysis of naphthocarboranes. The study of reactive intermediates is expected to lead to improved syntheses of organic molecules. The photolysis of naphthocarborane in the presence of supercoiled cyclic DNA caused efficient single strand cleavage, suggesting that the work could lead to biomedical applications. The PI is known to be an outstanding educator, and we would expect that to continue under the continuing grant.