The mission of the Synthesis Core
is to:
(1) be a resource for Center principal investigators and
their colleagues to validate their novel chemical methodologies,
(2) be a repository for reagents and compound sets produced within
the greater Center, and
(3) be a broker of Center reagents and compounds in the greater
biomedical research community.
Personnel
The
Director of the Synthesis Core is Dr.
Frank Schoenen. Dr. Schoenen received his Ph.D. in organic
chemistry with Prof. Steven D. Burke at the University of South
Carolina in 1987. He then did postdoctoral studies as an NIH Fellow
in the laboratories of Prof. Stuart L. Schreiber at Yale University
and Harvard University. Dr. Schoenen joined the pharmaceutical
company Glaxo in 1990 as a medicinal chemist working in the inflammation
therapeutic area, contributed to the early efforts to apply combinatorial
chemistry within GlaxoWellcome as a colleague of H. Mario Geysen,
and worked in Discovery Research High Throughput Chemistry in
the nuclear receptor system in GlaxoSmithKline. He joined the
KU CMLD in July of 2005. Dr. Schoenen is an Associate Research
Professor in the Higuchi Biosciences Center and Courtesy Associate
Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry.
Click
here to send Dr. Schoenen an email.
Distinguished
Professor Lester A. Mitscher serves as a Senior
Advisor to the Synthesis Core. Professor Mitscher has
a long-term research interest in the synthesis and molecular modes
of action of natural products including antimicrobial agents and
chemopreventive agents (with an emphasis on antimutagenesis).
Prof. Mitscher has received the Smissman Award and Medicinal Chemistry
Award (ACS), Research Achievement Award (APhA), Volweiler Award
(AACP), the Higuchi-Simons Award (KU), and is an elected Fellow
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He
served as chair of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry from
1975-1993, and has held posts in numerous professional organizations.
He consults for several major pharmaceutical firms, and is on
the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry,
Heterocycles, the Journal of Antibiotics, Biorganic and Medicinal
Chemistry, Biorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, and the
Saudi Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Click
here to send Professor Mitscher an email.
Ms.
Tatiana Odintsova was hired in May 2007 as the Compound
Management Specialist for the KU CMLD Center. She graduated
from Tashkent State University (Uzbekistan) with a degree in Analytical
Chemistry. Ms. Odintsova has experience with a wide range of instrumentation
in the field of mass spectrometry. Ms. Odintsova has research
experience in industrial and academic laboratories. Prior to joining
the CMLD Center, she conducted research in the Biochemical Research
Service Laboratory (BRSL) at KU. Prior to joining the BRSL, Ms.
Odintsova worked for a Russian Pharmaceutical Company in Sales
& Marketing and provided technical and scientific consulting
to clinics, hospitals, and medical centers. Ms. Odintsova is also
responsible for the Center Chemical Inventory and serves as the
CMLD Center Safety Officer. She oversees compound management from
data-management through compound submission to Center Biological
Outreach Partners. As the Center Compound Management Specialist,
she is responsible for operating the following instrumentation:
Balance Automator, Genevac EZ-2 Plus parallel evaporator, MiniMapper
liquid-handler, Gilson 215 liquid handler, Biomek FX liquid handler,
and the AbGene plate sealer.
Mr.
David Hill is a 2007 graduate of the University of Kansas
where he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Biology.
He is currently working as a Research Assistant/Library
Synthesis Specialist for the Core B after serving in
a similar capacity, part-time, as an undergraduate. David specializes
in the operation of laboratory instrumentation. His automation
expertise includes the Chemspeed SLT100 Automated Synthesizer,
for which he is a Center super-user. David is also an expert user
for a variety of instrumentation from the MT AutoChem Medicinal
Chemistry Toolbox: MiniBlock, MiniMapper, ALLEXis, and Balance
Automator. In addition to validating new chemical methodologies
and producing compound libraries, David contributes to compound
management, from data-management through compound submission to
Center Biological Outreach Partners. In his spare time, David
is studying toward a second degree, in Chemistry, from the University
of Kansas.
Facilities
The CMLD Core B occupies four labs in Building B of the KU Life Science Research Laboratories. Two Core B labs support synthetic organic chemistry performed in the traditional manner, i.e., round-bottom flasks. The remaining two labs were redesigned recently to serve as an automation-intensive suite.
 |
 |
|
|
The Synthesis Core provides expertise and instruments
for performing solution- and solid-phase chemistry and compound
management. The major equipment located in the Synthesis Core,
which is available to all Center participants, includes:
(1) the Innovative Technology Pure-Solv
(2) the Chemspeed Accelerator SLT 100
for automated chemical synthesis
(3) the MT Autochem MiniBlock, MiniBlock
XT, MiniBlock XT Plus, Radley’s Greenhouse, IRORI Kan system,
and Argonaut Quest 205 and 210 Synthesizers for serial/parallel/semi-automated/manual
solution- and solid-phase synthesis
(4) the Innovative Technology System One Glove Box
(5) the Biotage Emrys Optimizer for serial microwave-assisted
synthesis
(6) the Gilson 215 SPE, Teledyne ISCO CombiFlash
Companion and Biotage Horizon purification systems
(7) the Genevac EZ-2 Plus and Genevac DD-4
for parallel solvent evaporation
(8) the Virtis Advantage freeze dryer for batch freeze drying
(9) the MT AutoChem ALLEXis for automated
liquid-liquid extraction
(10) the MT AutoChem MiniMapper and
Gilson 215 for automated liquid-handling
(11) the MT AutoChem Balance Automator for automated weighing
and bar-code reading
(12) REVCO –80 °C freezers for compound storage.
 |
Dr. Kevin Frankowski syringes solvent purified using the Innovative Technology, Inc. Pure-Solv SPS-400-5 solvent purification system. For additional information, please visit www.innovativet.com/solvent-purification.htm
|
 |
Mr. David Hill, Dr. Erik Fenster, and Prof. Jeff Aubé discuss programming the ChemSpeed Accelerator SLT100 to perform a three-component library synthesis of 1,4-diazepion-5-ones as γ-turn peptide mimetics. |
 |
The Chemspeed Accelerator SLT100 performs fully-automated liquid- and solid-handling, reaction agitation/heating/cooling, liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, and solvent evaporation. For additional information, please visit www.chemspeed.com/index.php
|
 |
Ms. Priyanka Chaudhry employs the MiniBlock for solution-phase synthesis using solid-phase reagents and scavengers to facilitate the synthesis of a library of oxazoline and dihydrooxazine compounds. For additional information, please visit www.mt.com/autochem
|
| Flash Chromatography: ISCO CombiFlash Companion | |
 |
Dr. Shankar Manyem, working in the Center on a project with Prof. Mukund Sibi to synthesize a library of pyrazoline compounds, uses the CombiFlash Companion flash chromatography system to purify library building blocks. For additional information, please visit www.isco.com
|
 |
Ms. Priyanka Chaudhry uses the Genevac EZ-2 Plus to remove solvent from compounds in vials destined for Center biological outreach partners. For additional information, please visit www.genevac.com
|
| Liquid-Liquid Extraction: MT AutoChem ALLEXis | |
 |
Dr. Shankar Manyem and Ms. Tatiana Odintsova use the MT AutoChem ALLEXis to perform automated liquid-liquid extractions. For additional information, please visit www.mt.com/autochem
|
 |
Ms. Cady Bush assists Mr. David Hill as they program the MT Autochem MiniMapper to perform liquid-handling for the MiniBlock XT. For additional information, please visit www.mt.com/autochem
|
 |
Mr. David Hill uses the Gilson 215 liquid-handler to transfer stock solutions of Center compounds in vials into 96-well microtiter plates for Center biological outreach partners. For additional information, please visit www.gilson.com |
