Dominic V Mcgrath

Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry-Sci

Professor, BIO5 Institute

Primary Department

Chemistry & Biochemistry

Department Affiliations

Chemistry & Biochemistry

BIO5 Institute

Contact

(520) 626-4690

mcgrath@u.arizona.edu

Research Interest

Dominic Mcgrath, PhD, set forth a program which involves the use of organic synthesis for the design, development, and application of new concepts in macromolecular, supramolecular, and materials chemistry. Research efforts span a number of areas in the chemical sciences and include studies of: 1) chiral dendritic macromolecules and the effect of chiral subunits on dendrimer conformation, 2) photochromic dendrimers and linear polymers which undergo structural changes in response to visible light, 3) liquid crystalline materials based on dendritic and photochromic mesogens, and 4) synthesis of new ligands based on saturated nitrogen heterocycles.A continuing interest remains in the effect of structural perturbations on the properties and functional of dendritic macromolecules. Part of this research addresses the design, synthesis, and study of dendrimeric materials containing chiral moieties in the interior for influencing the conformational order of these 3-dimensional macromolecules. An ultimate goal is to develop materials active for the selective clathration of small guest molecules. Potential applications include chemical separations, sensor technology, environmental remediation, and asymmetric catalysis.Dr. Mcgrath and his lab team recently developed several new classes of dendritic materials containing photochromic subunits. As nature uses light energy to alter function in photoresponsive systems such as photosynthesis, vision, phototropism, and phototaxis, they use light energy to drive gross topological or constitutional changes in fundamentally new dendritic architectures with precisely placed photoresponsive subunits. In short, they can drive dendrimer properties with light stimuli. Two entirely new classes of photoresponsive dendritic macromolecules have been developed and include: 1) photochromic dendrimers and 2) photolabile dendrimers. Dr. Mcgrath anticipates that switchable and degradable dendrimers of this type will have application in small molecule transport systems based on their ability to reversibly encapsulate guest molecules. He continues to develop these materials as potential transport hosts and photoresponsive supramolecular assemblies.

Publications

Dendrimer disassembly as a new paradigm for the application of dendritic structures

McGrath, D. V. (2005). Dendrimer disassembly as a new paradigm for the application of dendritic structures. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 2(4), 253-263. doi:10.1021/mp050047x

PMID: 16053328;Abstract:

We present an overview of an entirely new concept in nanotechnology, dendrimer disassembly. Dendrimer disassembly is a process that relies on a single triggering event to initiate multiple cleavages throughout a dendritic structure that result in release of individual dendrimer subunits or larger dendrimer fragments. The potential of this process lies in (1) the nature of dendrimers as covalent assemblages of active species, and using the chemistry of disassembly to release these species into a system; and (2) the role of dendritic components of a system in influencing solubility, energy harvesting, or insulating capabilities, etc., and using the chemistry of disassembly to reverse those contributions to a system. This is a powerful construct, in that dendrimers and dendritic structures can be made up of a wide variety of subunits, compatibilized with many different environments, and incorporated into countless systems. We anticipate that dendritic materials with disassembly capabilities will (a) be useful for traditional polymer degradation technologies and (b) have potential applications in nanotechnology, biomedicine, sensors, etc. © 2005 American Chemical Society.

Zinc Phthalocyanine-Phosphonic Acid Monolayers on ITO: Orientation and Distance Dependence of Charge Transfer Kinetics

Oquendo, L. E., Ehamparam, R., Armstrong, N. R., Saavedra, S. S., & Mcgrath, D. V. (2018). Zinc Phthalocyanine-Phosphonic Acid Monolayers on ITO: Orientation and Distance Dependence of Charge Transfer Kinetics. Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

Phototriggering of geometric dendrimer disassembly: An improved synthesis of 2,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)phenol based dendrimers

Szalai, M. L., & McGrath, D. V. (2004). Phototriggering of geometric dendrimer disassembly: An improved synthesis of 2,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)phenol based dendrimers. Tetrahedron, 60(34), 7261-7266. doi:10.1016/j.tet.2004.06.078

Abstract:

Dendrimers capable of phototriggered disassembly were prepared up to the second-generation using an improved synthesis of 2,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)phenol based dendrimers. It was found that disassembly proceeds to 75-80% completion after 2 h of irradiation at 310 nm for all molecules studied. The lack of complete reaction is attributed to an inefficient photochemical deprotection process rather than the disassembly itself. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Constitution, configuration, and the optical activity of chiral dendrimers

McElhanon, J. R., & McGrath, D. V. (1997). Constitution, configuration, and the optical activity of chiral dendrimers. American Chemical Society, Polymer Preprints, Division of Polymer Chemistry, 38(1), 278-279.

An efficient reverse Diels-Alder approach for the synthesis of N-alkyl bismaleimides

Rao, V., Navath, S., Kottur, M., McElhanon, J. R., & McGrath, D. V. (2013). An efficient reverse Diels-Alder approach for the synthesis of N-alkyl bismaleimides. Tetrahedron Letters, 54(37), 5011-5013. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tetlet.2013.07.002

Abstract:

Bismaleimides are useful precursors for Diels-Alder reactions, Michael additions, and thiol-maleimide based conjugation for the synthesis of materials and polymers. Use of bismaleimide cross linkers for generating polymers, bioconjugate molecules, and useful imaging molecules is an active area of research. An efficient and practical synthetic protocol for N-alkyl bis-maleimide cross linkers starting from furan protected maleimide employing a reverse Diels-Alder reaction is reported. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dominic V Mcgrath