Handbook

CHEM991 is concerned with the synthesis and properties of chemical compounds and materials containing metal ions, as well as their application in areas such as catalysis and chemotherapy. The range of compounds and materials that will be explored includes organometallic compounds, metal-organic frameworks, supramolecular systems such as metal complexes of macrocyclic ligands and cryptands, and molecular knots. The subject will also examine the toxicological properties and medicinal chemistry of metal complexes, using a variety of approaches including methods that employ synchrotron radiation. The subject includes an extended laboratory project that requires students to apply the skills and knowledge gained from the other half of the subject to the synthesis and characterisation of a range of metal complexes designed to bind to different types of DNA. The students will then employ a range of methods including mass spectrometry and circular dichroism spectroscopy to explore the interactions of the metal complexes with both double stranded and possibly quadruplex forms of DNA. This extended laboratory projects is designed so as to promote teamwork initially amongst small groups of 2 - 4 students synthesising the same compounds, but also more broadly amongst the entire class by sharing the results of DNA binding studies conducted using different metal complexes.