Department of Chemistry

Nanoparticles have shown great promise in the targeted delivery of drugs to cells, but researchers at the University of Georgia have refined the drug delivery process further by using nanoparticles to deliver drugs to a specific organelle within cells.

By targeting mitochondria, often called "the powerhouse of cells," the researchers increased the effectiveness of mitochondria-acting therapeutics used to treat cancer, Alzheimer's disease and obesity in studies conducted with cultured cells.

Judy I-Chia Wu, a recent doctoral graduate from the department of chemistry, was one of six young chemists recently honored by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Wu, who earned her doctorate in 2011, was awarded the IUPAC Prize for her Ph.D. thesis work titled “Quantification of Virtual Chemical Properties: Strain, Hyperconjugation, Conjugation, and Aromaticity.” She was chosen from more than 40 applicants from 19 countries, and will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and a trip to the 44^th IUPAC World Chemistry Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, where her award will be presented during the opening ceremony of the Congress.

"Beryllium borohydride compounds have long been of interest in alternative energy for their potential in hydrogen gas storage, since they have the largest hydrogen capacity of all metal borohydrides. However, the structure of these compounds, and thus how exactly they would store hydrogen, has been a puzzle for over 70 years. Now, Gregory H. Robinson and co-workers at The University of Georgia have discovered the structure of a new beryllium borohydride molecule, ending the long-standing ambiguity (DOI: 10.1021/ja304514f).

"Using ultraviolet light, chemists have reversibly immobilized molecules on surfaces (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja302970x). The technique could be used to develop repairable microarrays or to study how biochemical events on surfaces progress with time. 

Light-mediated reactions are nothing new when it comes to decorating surfaces for bioanalytical chemistry. But most techniques are irreversible or make it difficult to reuse a surface.