Jessi Fautch
B.S. Viterbo University
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I am working on the cancer prevention project, specifically by examining the chemopreventative effects of metal-ligand complexes. The bulk of my research so far is comprised of organic and inorganic syntheses. I mostly focus on vanadium oxo complexes derivatives. Once synthesized, these compounds are reacted with cancer - causing alkylating agents to determine if the vanadyl interacts with the carcinogen. Proton NMR is used to follow these reactions, and the products can be characterized to see where the VO compound was alkylated. Once a M-L compound has shown some reactivity towards the alkylating agent, we then perform an assay with plasmid DNA to see if the complex will prevent DNA damage. We have also completed preliminary experiments using commercial inorganic salts and DNA extracted from E. coli cells. To date we have determined that several synthetic VO compounds exhibit reactivity towards alkylating agents, and some metal-ligand complexes will protect DNA in the presence of a carcinogen. Future work on this project includes reactions with the synthesized compounds, alkylating toxins, and DNA, all within the cell.
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