Olga Rinco - McMaster University

Placement: The University of Victoria
Supervisor: Dr. Cornelia Bohne

Investigation of Dynamic Processes in Bile Salt Aggregates

Bile salt aggregates are supramolecular structures containing two binding sites, from which dissociation can be studied. The values for the dissociation rate constants from these two binding sites are different by a factor of 10. This work in progress is exploring two different aspects of mobility in bile salt aggregates:

  • Determination if bile salt aggregates are suitable for magnetic field studies on the dynamics of radical pairs.
  • How the structure of the excited triplet state affects the solubilization site and the dissociation rate constants of the excited states from bile salt aggregates.
The magnetic field effect experiments are being done through laser flash photolysis (LFP) as well as product studies. In order to compare the kinetics of LFP to product studies an asymmetric product is necessary. Thus the following asymmetric ketone is being synthesized:

Diphenylditolylacetone

The structural effect of excited states is being studied through a series of naphthalene probes. Triplet absorption spectra, kinetic plots, and quenching experiments are being conducted to learn the effects on solubilization sites and dissociation constants.

Back to: 1996 RISE Scholars

29-jun-96