James Harrington
CBTE Fellow 2006-2008
Research Interests
In biology, iron is a necessary metal ion for organisms to survive. However, iron is a metal ion that easily precipitates from solution as unusable hydroxide complexes. To prevent this from taking place, bacteria produce low-molecular-weight compounds known as siderophores that bind iron specifically and with high affinity to bring it into the cell. Studying these siderophores in the laboratory can be difficult because of their low water-solubility. This problem, however, can be solved by studying compounds of similar structure that have higher solubility. My current research is studying 9-ane-N3 and 6-ane-N2-based siderophore models with hydroxypyridinone donor groups. The thermodynamic stability of the complexes of these molecules with iron will be studied and compared to other natural siderophores. We will conduct a series of spectrophotometric experiments to study the absorptive properties of the complexes, and then use the results in conjunction with competition titrations to determine the thermodynamic stability constants of the complexes. A second series of spectrophotometric titrations will be used to determine the protonation constants of the complexes to provide a fuller view of the behavior of similar complexes in biological systems. We will also study the electrochemical properties of the complexes by cyclic voltammetry. Determination of the reduction potentials of the complexes will provide insight into possible mechanisms of iron release upon crossing the periplasmic membrane
Outside Interests
Video games, anime, cooking
Quote of Interest
"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last
fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money."
- Based on a Cree saying