Synthesis and Characterization of a 4-(N,N-dimethylamino) Phthalimide-Substituted Amino Acid, a Polarity-Sensitive Fluorophore
Primary Submission Contact
Stephen Sekoulopoulos
Faculty Sponsor
Thomas Goyne
Faculty Sponsor Email Address
thomas.goyne.valpo.edu
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/Program
Department of Chemistry
Document Type
Poster Presentation
Date
Fall 10-28-2016
Abstract
The goal of this project is to chemically synthesize a fluorescent amino acid that will later be used as a glow-in-the-dark building block for proteins. The resulting glow-in-the-dark proteins are of great value to biologists because fluorescent microscopy can then be used to observe the protein’s spatial and temporal location within a living cell. The specific objective of this project is to synthesize the phthalimide-based environment-sensitive fluorescent amino acid shown in the equation below. We have synthesized and coupled the two building blocks and have characterized the coupled product by liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LC-MS), 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The remaining task is to remove the two protecting groups.
Recommended Citation
Sekoulopoulos, Stephen P., "Synthesis and Characterization of a 4-(N,N-dimethylamino) Phthalimide-Substituted Amino Acid, a Polarity-Sensitive Fluorophore" (2016). Fall Interdisciplinary Research Symposium. 23.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/fires/23
Additional Presentation Information
Tabletop Poster
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Stephen Sekoulopoulos is a junior Biochemistry major and is also a member of Christ College, which is the honors college at Valparaiso University. This is his second year doing research at Valparaiso, where he spent his first year working with the physics department. After his undergraduate studies, Stephen plans to attend medical school where he plans to specialize in pediatric neurosurgery.