Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
Program Focus
Our lab focuses on developing new materials to address problems in biology and medicine, energy, and the environment. With a focus on synthetic small molecule and polymer chemistry, we aim to synthesize, characterize, and test these new materials in an interdisciplinary and collaborative manner. Current research efforts include:
- Developing methods for the delivery of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a biologically vital signaling agent. To this end we have developed small molecule H2S donors, polymers capable of sustained H2S release, and hydrogels that have the ability to localize H2S delivery.
- Synthesizing bottlebrush polymers, which are unique polymers that have potential applications resulting in a reduction of energy usage in a variety of systems.
- Preparing high performance polymers that are bio- and photodegradable. These materials are based on synthetic polymers and naturally occurring polymers such as polysaccharides.
- Investigating dendritic peptides with thermoresponsive properties. These high molecular weight, highly branched peptides may find use in biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Selected Publications
Powell, C. R.; Dillon, K. M.; Wang, Y.; Carrazzone, R. J. Matson, J. B.* “A Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)-Responsive Persulfide Donor: Insights into Reactivity and Therapeutic Potential” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 6324-6328. doi: 10.1002/anie.201803087
Foster, J. C.; Radzinski, S. C.; Zou, X.; Finkielstein, C. V.; Matson, J. B.* “H2S-Releasing Polymer Assemblies for Studying Selective Cell Toxicity” Mol. Pharm. 2017, 14, 1300-1306. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.6b01117
Powell, C. R.; Foster, J. C.; Okyere, B.; Theus, M. H.; Matson, J. B.* “Therapeutic Delivery of H2S via COS: Small Molecule and Polymeric Donors with Benign Byproducts” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 13477-13480. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b07204