Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are linear anionic polysaccharides that play many important biological functions such as cell-signaling, cell recognition, inflammation, angiogenesis on the cell surface¹. However, the structural heterogeneity of GAGs and their low abundance in biological systems have made their analysis difficult².

Determining the unique isomeric structures of lipids is vital to understanding their biochemical functions in organisms. Distinct lipid isomers have been directly linked to a variety of disease states and properties of cellular membranes. Being able to distinguish between C=C positional isomers has proven to be particularly difficult. Traditional methods of C=C position elucidation included complex derivatization of the parent lipids before analysis could be performed.

Bile acids (BA) are synthesized in the liver from cholesterol and utilized by the body through primary taurine and glycine (de)conjugation, while secondary BA salts undergo de-hydroxylation, dehydration, and epimerization of the cholesterol backbone. They have been linked to several well understood and unknown disease states in systems biology. Structural characterization of bile acid derivatives continues to be a challenge in metabolomic studies.

Performance enhancing drug (PED) use is a historic issue at the highest levels of professional competition, driving use in young amateurs and compromising the healthfulness of sport. Legal criteria for detecting PED use in athlete’s urine and blood have been in continuous development for 40 years. Illicit use of endogenous substances such as testosterone cannot be established by their presence in fluids.

The UGA Department of Chemistry will add three new lecturers to the teaching faculty in Fall 2022. Two of the lecturers are familiar faces, having taught General Chemistry at UGA for several years, while the third is a newcomer to Athens.

Increasing numbers of students are using electronic flashcard engine to study for basic chemistry content like names and symbols of the elements, names and formulas of polyatomic ions, and one-step transformations. We used a survey to compare two electronic flashcard engines–Quizlet and Anki–and determined which engine the research team should use to create electronic flashcard decks for students to utilize. The survey results shows that more students have used Quizlet compared to Anki, but those who used both preferred Anki.

Automated transiton state (TS) structure computations for a recently reported Pd-catalysed conjugated addition of arylboronic acids to 2-substituted chromones (Chem Sci, 2020, 11, 4602) reveal unexpected conformations of the key stereodifferentiating benzyl group on the pyridine-dihydroisoquinoline (PyDHIQ) ligand.

The American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Division of Organic Chemistry recently named UGA Chemistry major Jessica Budwitz as an ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Outstanding Senior Organic Chemistry Student. This award is intended to recognize senior students who have displayed a significant aptitude for organic chemistry as evidenced by their formal coursework as well as their research accomplishments during the course of their undergraduate studies, and recognizes the student’s desire to pursue a career in chemistry.