Date of Award

5-2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Chemistry

Committee Chair

Mark Lipton

Committee Member 1

Mingji Dai

Committee Member 2

Kavita Shah

Abstract

Ethylene is used by plants as a hormone to control many physiological processes throughout the lifetime of a plant, including seed germination, growth, formation of the apical hook, organ senescence, fruit ripening, abscission, gravitropism and responses to various stresses.1 1methylcyclopropene is the most widely used ethylene antagonist on the market currently. Studies show that 1-alkylcyclopropene compounds react with a Cu(I) ion in the active site of ethylene receptor 1 (ETR1) forming carbenoids and deactivating ETR1.1’2,3 There is still a great demand for novel ethylene antagonists because 1-MCP has some drawbacks such as high volatility, low solubility in water, and high reactivity. Our goal is to develop novel cyclopropene compounds with fewer limitations that can be more widely used. Several lines of evidence establish an important role for dysregulation of cellular cholesterol homeostasis and accumulation of cholesterol in the growth of tumor cells. TO901317 and canosimibe are potent therapeutic targets which lower intracellular cholesterol level. Our goal is to develop targeted delivery of these two classes of agents to prostate tumor cells in order to block the growth of prostate tumor cells in a synergistic and selective fashion. This targeting will be effected through coupling of the cholesterol lowering agents to DUPA, a molecule designed to target Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA). DUPA conjugates demonstrated prostate tumor targeting in a preliminary Phase 0 clinical trial.

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