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Ken S. Feldman (b. 1956) Professor of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University B.S. Harvey Mudd College, 1978 Ph.D. Stanford University, 1984 Phone: (814) 863-4654 Fax: (814) 863-5319 Email: ksf@chem.psu.edu |
Fresh from consulting with Albert, Dr. Feldman returns to the lab. |
Research Interests: Total synthesis of natural and unnatural products; new synthetic methods.
Organic synthesis in the Feldman group is focused on the development
of new general methods for the efficient synthesis of complex molecules. These
target molecules often have some particular relevance to the chemistry of
biological systems. Our current efforts are directed toward three general
research areas:
1) Diradical cyclizations for C–C bond formation in sterically congested environments. Novel methods for the generation of diradicals under mild conditions, and their cyclization, electrocyclization, and cycloadditions are being explored within the context of natural products synthesis.
2) Natural Products Synthesis: Probes for Biological Mechanism-of-Action Studies. Total synthesis of members of the kinamycin family of antibiotics, and use of the natural products and designed analogues as mechanism-of-action probes, is underway. Preliminary results point to a dual mechanism involving both radical damage and alkylation capabilities, with DNA as the probable target.
3) Lecanindole D synthesis. Total synthesis of the highly selective progesterone receptor (PR) agonist lecanindole D is underway. Successful completion of the synthesis will pave the way for analogue studies in an attempt to determine the structural basis of its profound selectivity for the PR compared to other hormone receptors, a trait not shared by any commercial PR agonists.
