The sulfuric acid droplets also have implications for global warming and for ozone depletion. My research focuses on damage-inducible DNA repair in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. In this organism the genes coding for DNA repair enzymes are repressed in the absence of DNA damage and activated when cellular DNA is damaged. We are using hetero Diels-Alder reactions as new routes to alkaloids in the yohimbane, berbine, and canthinone series. We are exploring routes to new aza-aromatic molecules for metal complexations.
Bisquaternized derivatives can undergo facile single-electron transfer reactions.
Such processes are important in catalytic photolysis of water by visible light, redox reactions of triplet state zinc-substituted hemoproteins, and herbicidal activity. There are a number of known materials that have the potential to act as one-dimensional conductors, but many of these are hindered by properties associated with the solid state. Limited domain size and the lowering of conductivity by Peierls-like distortions are among the obstacles presented by these materials. Even with these obstacles, interest in one-dimensionally conductive materials is very high due to advancements and new directions in the development of nanostructured devices, for which molecular wires will be a critical component. Our approach to developing new molecular wires is to design liquid crystalline derivatives of one-dimensional structures.