Discipline: Chemistry and Chemical Sciences
Subcategory: Cancer Research
Melissa Toliver - Tougaloo College
Co-Author(s): Shaikara Bryant and William Gladney, Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. Each year more than 230,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. The American Cancer Society’s estimates for prostate cancer in the United States for 2016 are about 180,890 new cases of prostate cancer and about 26,120 deaths from prostate cancer. This project utilizes a novel approach of synthesizing new compounds for the treatment of breast and prostate cancer. The concept involves synthesizing new chiral benzylic compounds that were not previously studied in cancer research. Chiral benzylic compounds have demonstrated therapeutic effects in the treatment of diseases. In this project ortho- and para- alkylation of 2 ,4 Dimethylaniline and 2 ,6 Dimethylaniline with substituted styrenes and substituted ethanol with triflic acid as a catalyst were carried out under solvent-free conditions in a conventional household microwave oven. The products were purified using column chromatography and characterized with NMR and HPLC. The products collected were easily recovered in good yields and characterized using proton NMR. Racemic Chiral compounds will be separated by HPLC into R and S enantiomers. The enantiomers will be tested on the ability to kill prostate and breast cancer cells.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): This study was supported, in part, by a grant from LSAMP Program ( Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation)awarded to Dr. George Armstrong PhD, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS 39174
Faculty Advisor: George Armstrong, garmstrong@tougaloo.edu
Role: With this research I conducted all test that were listed as follow: combined the chiral benzylic compounds, tested them under solvent free conditions using the conventional household microwave, purified them using column chromatography and characterized them with NMR and HPLC testing. Currently, I am working on the future work of testing the products on breast cancer cells.