Synthesis of an Unnatural Fluorescent Amino Acid

Authors

Madeline Johnson, Valparaiso UniversityFollow
Cassandra Niemeyer, Valparaiso UniversityFollow
Thomas Goyne, Valparaiso UniversityFollow

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Thomas Goyne

College

Arts and Sciences

Discipline(s)

Chemistry

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 5-3-2019

Abstract

The long-term goal of this project is to chemically synthesize an unnatural fluorescent amino acid (UFAA) that can later be used to build glow-in-the-dark proteins. UFAAs allow investigators to visualize a single protein in an otherwise transparent living cell. The specific UFAA target for this project is L-alanine, 3-[7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl], which is an analog of the natural amino acid tryptophan. This synthesis consists of a coupling reaction followed by a deprotection reaction. Products have been characterized using 1H and 13C NMR, and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). Future tasks could include optimizing the yield and purity of this UFAA.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Madeline is a senior at Valparaiso University, majoring in chemistry, and minoring in biology.

Cassandra is a sophomore at Valparaiso University, majoring in biochemistry, and is pursuing Pre-Med.

Recommended Citation

Johnson, Madeline; Niemeyer, Cassandra; and Goyne, Thomas, "Synthesis of an Unnatural Fluorescent Amino Acid" (2019). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 769.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/769