Submission Date

5-1-2020

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Chemistry

Adviser

Mark Ellison

Committee Member

Mark Ellison

Committee Member

Anthony Lobo

Committee Member

Ryan Walvoord

Department Chair

Amanda Reig

Project Description

Carbon nanotubes have recently gained interest as potential vehicles for use in advanced drug delivery systems. A highly relevant application for such systems is the treatment of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. Recently, one study showed that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) could be used to deliver tetracycline in a manner that could combat tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli. However, the scope of this system is believed to be limited to antibiotics that contain conjugated π systems. The current study is therefore focused on developing a system that is compatible with non-conjugated antibiotics such as clarithromycin. The proposed system is comprised of two parts: a cysteine functionalized SWNT and a cysteine-clarithromycin conjugate. These pieces can be joined together via a disulfide bond, which can then be cleaved by reducing enzymes once in the target cell. While the proposed system could not be fully realized due to unforeseen circumstances, the cysteine-clarithromycin conjugate has been synthesized and an improved synthesis of cysteine functionalized nanotubes has also been developed.

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