Chemistry Brock University

Program Description

Chemistry is the study of matter and its interactions with various forms of energy. Brock students are involved in the analysis, synthesis and purification of substances, determining their structures and properties and explaining the mechanisms of processes. Our programs stress chemical principles and practice through research in organic, inorganic, analytical, physical and theoretical chemistry, with a strong emphasis on the interdisciplinary fields of bio-inorganic and bio-organic chemistry and chemical biophysics. Research interests of the department include development of new chiral ligands, organometallic reagents, and methods for asymmetric synthesis, green chemistry including bacterial dioxygenase-mediated degradation of aromatics, new approaches in natural product synthesis emphasizing morphine alkaloids, design and synthesis of fluorinated inhalation anesthetic agents and unnatural oligo-saccharide conjugates, ligand design and crystal engineering aimed at self-assembly of novel molecule-based materials, organic electrochemistry, energetics of photosynthesis studied by time-resolved electron spin resonance of short-lived paramagnetic intermediates, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, organometallic mass spectrometry, quantum and computational chemistry, pesticide and trace element analysis, protein affinity labelling and protein-lipid interactions, and structure-activity correlations of anticancer pharmaceuticals.

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