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Summary
of Research Interests
One of the research efforts in our
laboratory has been devoted to the interpretation of spectroscopic
measurements on a variety of chemical systems including europium, iron, and
tin complexes, biochemicals, minerals and alloys. The primary type of
spectroscopy used in this research is Mössbauer (or nuclear gamma
resonance) spectroscopy, valuable for identifying oxidation and spin states
and bonding of metal ions in complexes. Since 1985 with Dr. George
Eng of University of the District of Columbia
and his group, we have been studying the speciation
of tributyltin and triphenyltin compounds in the sediments of the
rivers in the vicinity of Washington and
the Chesapeake Bay by measuring the
Mössbauer spectra of the compounds directly within the sediments. This
has been extended to components of sediments, such as clays and sand. With
Dr. Clive I. Wynter of the Nassau
Community College and
his colleagues, we have doing research on the dynamic structure of europium
compounds as well as its fluorescence properties. Another project is
the measurement of the ferrous and ferric composition of American Indian
Pottery and other ceramic materials.
Another research done in
conjunction with Dr. John Golin of the Biology Department is concerned
with the efflux of drugs from yeast. We have related the efflux of
various substrates including tri-n-alkytin chlorides and
tetraalkyltins to properties such as molecular volume, hydrophobicity, and
distance between the tin and carbon atoms. Unexpectedly, the extent
of efflux was not related to the hydrophobicity of the substrate but to its
surface volume. We have found that there are three sites at which the
substrates interact with the Pdr5 depending upon the properties of the
substrate. Mutants are being prepared to aid in determining the
natures of these sites. For a
recent review of this research, see Golin, May, and Ambudkar, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 2007, 356, 1.
Research into the history of
chemistry led to the collection
of the birthdays of prominent chemists and the listing of significant
chemical events, which is used by This Week in Chemical History published
by the American Chemical
Society. Historical events in spectroscopy may be viewed at Monthly Historical Events
in Spectroscopy. Biographies of selected chemists and
physicists are found at the History
Corner. Also, a listing of historical events in Mössbauer
Spectroscopy can be found here. An informal
association of those devoted to propagating the music of chemist-composers
has been formed: Society
for the Propagation of the Music of the Chemist-Composers.
Visit the Hall of Chemical
History in Maloney Hall by viewing the video “Tour
of the Hall of Chemical History” prepared by Ms. Adrienne Black,
Assistant to the Chairman of the Chemistry Department.
Some Recent
Publications:
“The yeast Pdr5p multidrug transporter: How does it recognize so many
substrates?” Golin, J.; May, L.; Ambudkar, S. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 2007, 356, 1-5.
“Synthesis, spectroscopic
characterization and X-ray crystal and molecular structures of diphenyltin(IV)
complexes of acetone Schiff bases of
S-alkyldithiocarcarbzates”, Akbar Ali, M.; Mirza, A. H.; Hamid,
M. H. H. A.; Bernhardt, P. V.; Atchade, O.;
Song, X.; Eng, G.: May, L., Polyhedron, 2008, 27, 977-984.
“The lesser known chemist-composers, past and present,” May, L. Bull. Hist. Chem., 2008, 33, 35-43.
“In celebration of the 50th anniversary of SAS: a brief history of the
early years,” Margoshes, M.; May, L., The SAS Spectrum Newsletter, 2008,
http://s-a-s.org/Spectrum/2008/SAS-Hist.pdf
.”In celebration of the 50th anniversary of SAS: a selection of ground
breaking papers from Applied Spectroscopy,” May, L.; Chase, B.; Griffiths,
P.; Harris, J., The SAS Spectrum Newsletter, 2008, http://s-a-s.org/Spectrum/2008/SAS-Pap.pdf
“The early years of SAS,” Margoshes, M.; May, L., Appl. Spectrosc., SAS 50th Yr. Spec. Ed., 2008, 5-14.
“A selection of ground breaking papers published in Applied
Spectroscopy,” May, L.; Chase, B.; Griffiths, P.; Harris, J., Appl. Spectrosc., SAS 50th Yr. Spec. Ed., 2008, 36-52.
“Mössbauer spectroscopy of 151europium dicarboxylates,”
Wynter, C. I.; Ryan, D. H.’ Trichtchenko, O.; Voyer, C. J.; Brown, D. E.; Sobel, S. G.; Haigney. A. L.;
May, L.; Hillery, B. R.; Gajbhiye, N. S., Hyperfine Inter.,
2008, 185, 123-127.
“Mutations define cross-talk between the n-terminal nucleotide-binding
domain and transmembrane helix-2 of the yeast multidrug transporter Pdr5:
Possible conservation of a signaling interface for coupling ATP hydrolysis
to drug transport,” Sauna, Z. E.; Bohn, S. S.; Rutledge, R.; Dougherty, M.
P.; Cronin, S.; May, L.; Xia,
D.; Ambudkar, S. V.; Golin, J., J.
Biol. Chem., 2008, 283, 35010-35022.
Revised-January 5, 2009
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