With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Baylor University will acquire a X-ray diffractometer with CCD detector. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas including the following: a) the synthesis and characterization of new organometallic species, especially anionic compounds that may be linked together for the formation of dendrimers, polymers and other supramolecular species; b) the study of the chemistry of 'half sandwich' monocarbollide complexes of transition metals; c) the design of new vascular targeting agents for cancer chemotherapy; and d) the development of chemically modified electrode arrays for sensing ionic contaminants in aqueous matrices.
The X-ray diffractometer allows accurate and precise measurements of the full three dimensional structure of a molecule, including bond distances and angles, and it provides accurate information about the spatial arrangement of the molecule relative to the neighboring molecules. These studies will have an impact in a number of areas, especially medicinal chemistry and materials chemistry.
