"Nanozymes": functionalised dendrimers as enzyme mimics

Supervisor: Dr. Bim Graham and Dr. Jamie Simpson

Contact: bim.graham@monash.edu
Bim Graham
Tel: 9903 9706
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Monash University [Parkville Campus]

Contact: jamie.simpson@monash.edu
Jamie Simpson
Tel: 9903 9706
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Monash University [Parkville Campus]

Honours project for 2008

Enzymes are exquisite molecular machines that achieve their remarkable catalytic efficiencies through the cooperative action of several functional groups at their active site. There has been widespread interest in the development of synthetic compounds that are able to mimic the activity of enzymes, not only because it may improve our understanding of the how enzymes themselves work, but also because of the potential to produce cheap, robust substitutes that might be of commercial and/or practical use, e.g., as therapeutics, biochemical tools, decontamination agents, and catalysts for industrial processes.
This Honours project will explore a novel strategy for generating new enzyme mimics, involving the functionalisation of highly-branched macromolecules known as dendrimers. In the first instance, a series of polyamine-type dendrimers will be prepared and functionalised with mixtures of groups designed to mimic the catalytic residues found at the active sites of hydrolase-type enzymes. The enzyme-like activity of the dendrimers will be tested via a series of spectrophotometric assays. This project would suit a student interested in organic synthesis, NMR spectroscopy, enzyme chemistry, and learning some basic biochemical techniques.