Research Project
Antimicrobial Properties of Group 8 and 9 Synthesized Compounds
Faculty Mentor
Avijita Jain
What is your research?
This summer I have been researching the possible use of the well-known transition metal Iron as an antimicrobial agent. Extensive research has been done regarding the synthesis of various Iron complexes and how well they perform against different bacterial strains. It is imperative to analyze the effectiveness of each metal complex against the strains utilized, as well as take note of synthesis and the distinct antimicrobial techniques used for each experiment. It is my job to gain information from numerous scientific articles and decipher which Iron complexes provide the most potential to my current research at IUP. It is also my job to present my findings in a published research paper that will be written along with the help of my advisor, Dr. Jain.
Why is it important?
Bacterial resistance is a very large problem with the public health, and there is extensive research being conducted to find other novel as well as potent antimicrobial agents. It was found that transition metals provide more stereochemical variability compared to organic molecules and introduce new elements of chirality that is important for biological recognition as well as interaction. In this research, I investigate the antimicrobial properties of Fe- based metal complexes. It would be crucial to the scientific community to discover a newly synthesized yet effective Iron-based antimicrobial agent that would help solve the problem of bacterial resistance.
