The WCU chemistry faculty has a long and proud tradition of undergraduate and graduate research focusing on three areas: biochemistry and biotechnology, chemical synthesis, and environmental chemistry. New areas of investigation also include materials and sensors research.
These research areas include diverse topics outside the traditional chemistry disciplines. For example, biochemistry and biotechnology research includes reactivities of metal ion complexes by high field NMR, intercalation with DNA by UV-visible spectroscopy, and free radical biochemistry, and identification of genes in red oak; chemical synthesis includes host-guest polymer crystals and other highly structured large molecules green chemistry, materials and polymer science; environmental chemistry projects include environmental monitoring ad bioremediation.
While there is not a physics major at WCU, our physicists have active research programs that involve students. If you’re interested in physics, we encourage you to contact one of our physicists about their research!
Below is a brief description of current research projects directed by our faculty.
Cynthia A. Atterholt, Ph.D. - Analytical Chemistry
Controlled Release Pheromones for Insect Pest Management
Dr. Atterholt’s research involves the study of pheromones used for mating disruption as an alternative method to pesticides. There is an increasing interest in alternatives to pesticides to minimize pesticide residues on food, as a health and safety concern of agricultural workers, and to provide a general understanding of environment impact. Safe alternatives to pesticides are needed to insure a food supply that is adequate to feed a growing world population.
David J. Butcher, Ph.D. - Analytical Chemistry
Decline of High Elevation Conifers in the Southern Appalachians
Fraser fir (Abies fraseri), which are native to the Southern Appalachians, have experienced severe decline over the last forty years, primarily due to attack by an exotic insect, the balsam woolly adelgid. We have been studying differences in the chemical composition of the seeds and foliage of these trees to attempt to characterize chemical differences between trees that make individuals or stands more resistant to attack by this pest. The native habitat of these trees are scenic areas such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway; this species also is important as a Christmas tree. Because tourism and Christmas tree farms are significant industries in this region, the decline of the Fraser fir is potentially an economic loss to this region.
Phytoremediation at Barber Orchard, NC
Barber Orchard is a 500-acre residential housing development located approximately five miles west of Waynesville, NC and 20 miles from the WCU campus. It is currently listed as a Superfund site by the U.S. EPA because of high soil concentration levels of arsenic, lead, and organo-pesticides. The contamination was caused by pesticide use when the land was used as an apple orchard throughout most of the twentieth century. The EPA is currently conducting a remedial investigation/feasibility study to consider future action to be taken at Barber Orchard.
Brian Dinkelmeyer, Ph.D. - Organic Chemistry
Green Chemistry
Dr. Dinkelmeyer’s research interests involve the development of environmentally benign chemical processes. Organic solvents are a major source of pollution from the chemical industry. Processes that reduce or eliminate the use of organic solvents would be a major improvement over current technologies. The focus of this current work is in the development of solvent-free methods for synthesizing high-molecular weight polymers. Polybutadiene polymers will be the focus of our research efforts as these polymers are of significant industrial interest.
Carmen Huffman, Ph.D. - Physical Chemistry
Surface Chemistry
Surface chemistry plays an important role in many practical applications such as drug delivery and environmental clean-up of hazardous compounds. In my research lab, we work to understand the driving forces behind compounds in solution binding to a solid surface. For example, an admicelle, which is a spherical cluster of compounds adsorbed to a surface, can bind to a surface in different ways depending on its structure and environment. By using UV-active compounds, we can use UV-vis spectroscopy to determine the distribution of molecules within a complex system containing a surface. Knowing the distribution will help us to better understand the binding interactions involved in the adsorption process.
Another project involves the detection of arsenic-containing compounds on solid surfaces. We use thermogravimetric analysis, which is a method of measuring the energy associated with heating a compound and/or dissociation of a complex, to determine the binding constant for these species to solid surfaces. Presumably, different energy signatures can be used to identify different arsenic species which can have an important impact in environmental remediation applications.
William R. Kwochka, Ph.D. - Organic Chemistry
Using Weak Interactions to Build Molecular Systems
Some biological systems, such as the enzyme ATP Synthase, are complex, highly-organized collections of organic molecules that behave like molecular machines to perform specific tasks. The goal of our research is to design and build simple molecular machines and study how they operate in order to eventually prepare systems of molecular machines that perform a useful task. We are using two types of weak interactions, hydrogen-bonding and dative-bonding, to help us assemble our target molecular systems. Dative-bonding consists of a covalent bond between two atoms in which both electrons shared in the bond come from the same atom. Hydrogen-bonding, on the other hand, is the attractive interaction between a hydrogen atom and another electronegative atom, like oxygen or nitrogen, and is typically weaker than a covalent bond.
We are using dative-bonding interactions between Lewis acids (like boron atoms) and Lewis bases (like nitrogen atoms) to assemble molecules in which the nitrogen atom contributes a pair of electrons to form the bond between nitrogen and boron.
Similarly, we are using hydrogen-bonding interactions to build a type of molecule known as a rotaxane. Rotaxanes are mechanically interlocked molecules comprised of a cyclic component (the “ring”) and a linear component (the “thread”). The thread typically consists of a template to guide formation of the ring and stoppers that prevent the ring from dissociating.
Jack Summers, Ph.D. - Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry
Reactivities of Metal Ion Complexes by Phosphorus Relaxation Enhancement
Research in Dr. Summers' laboratory focuses on elucidating the factors that determine the reactivities of metal ion complexes, with specific emphasis on chemistries of biological or clinical importance. The work relies heavily on novel NMR methods called Phosphorus Relaxation Enhancement (PhoRE). PhoRE methods were developed by Dr. Summers and colleagues to characterize reactivities of paramagnetic metal ion complexes. The work can be classified into three areas, (1) initial work to develop the methods, (2) studies on nucleic acids, and (3) studies on proteins and peptides.