Title: Petroleum Refining in a Changing World; Bring on the Chemists
By: Dr. Chris LaFroncois, UMassD Alumnus and Retiree from Phillips66, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, United States
Petroleum refining has been the source of relatively “clean” and abundant fuels and products for over a century. Along the way, the industry has tackled many challenges to make to production of crude oil and its conversion to a multitude of life-changing products safer, cleaner, and efficient. In this seminar, an overview of the processes involved in crude oil refining will be presented along with specific examples of where chemists provided game-changing solutions to overcome problems and ensure reliable operation. With that introduction, we will move on to a discussion of the research initiatives that are underway to reduce emissions and develop technologies to support the energy transition.
Title: Novel Formamidinyl Pyri(mi)dinium Ylide Chemistry for ARP2/3 Complex Inhibitor Development for Naegleria fowleri
By: Dr. Siva Rasapalli, Chemistry and Biochemistry, UMass Dartmouth
The rich chemical reactivity of pyri(mi)dinium salts has been widely tapped in organic synthesis. However, the related pyri(mi)dinium ylide chemistry is still in its infancy. We propose to use the electrophilicity of the tethered 2-formamidinyl functionality to diversify the possible applications of pyri(mi)dinium ylides which are generally considered as nucleophilic for the synthesis of variously substituted imidazopyri(mi)dine library generation. The design of these libraries are guided by the structural features of a mammalian actin network inhibitor CK-666 with an objective of developing specific inhibitors for Naegleria fowleri, the “brain-eating amoeba,” a devastating disease for which there is a lack of reliable treatments and a >95% case fatality rate. The details of this two-pronged research plan will be shared.
