This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. The Chemical Synthesis Core Facility is directed by Robert Gawley, a new senior faculty member with extensive experience in synthetic organic chemistry and natural products chemistry, involving molecules such as sesquiterpenes, dendrimers, marine toxins, and chemosensors. A significant effort is being made in the COBRE Center to probe the interaction of small molecules with proteins, interactions which are responsible for the action of the vast majority of pharmaceuticals. These efforts require expertise in organic synthesis for the preparation of the small molecules, as well as in evaluating the interactions of the small molecules with proteins of interest. Equipment in the Synthesis Core facility includes eight Radley 12-vessel parallel synthesizers, a CEM Explorer Automated Microwave Synthesis Workstation, an Agilent GC-MS, and Bruker Avance 300 and 400 MHz NMR spectrometers. Of the $638,174 cost of the equipment in the core, $40,000 was provided by the COBRE grant, with the remainder coming from other grants and institutional funding. Dr Kwangyul Moon, an experienced synthetic organic chemist, is responsible for the synthesis and quality control of the compounds prepared in the core. The University has committed institutional funds to support permanent staff positions for Marvin Leister, Jerry Homesley, and K.Z. Shein, who maintain the instrumentation in the core. The University is also committing $210,000 for the purchase of a new small molecule X-ray diffractometer, which is needed to determine the structures of the molecules synthesized in the core.
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