WIU Chemistry

Join us this Wednesday for the Department of Chemistry Poster Day! 🧪 Our talented research students and faculty will showcase their interesting work. It's a fantastic opportunity to see the latest happenings in the chemistry department and connect with fellow students and faculty members. See you there! 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬

🚀 Exciting News! 🚀

Washington Monthly's 2024 College rankings have recognized the best colleges for women in STEM, and we're thrilled that WIU's Chemistry program has been rated #1!

🎉 Kudos to all the incredible students and faculty who make this possible. Let's continue to empower women in STEM and reach new heights! 💪🔬

Congratulations to our 2024 chemistry graduates!!!

Several chemistry students presented their research at the Illinois State Academy of Sciences annual meeting.

Dr. Mette Soendergaard recently published a review article together with collaborators Mallika Asar and Jessica Newton-Northup. The article describes the use of phage display technology to improve the biodistribution of therapeutic peptides.

Improving Pharmacokinetics of Peptides Using Phage Display Phage display is a versatile method often used in the discovery of peptides that targets disease-related biomarkers. A major advantage of this technology is the ease and cost efficiency of affinity selection, also known as biopanning, to identify novel peptides. While it is relatively straightforwar...

Join the Department of Chemistry and the Regional Girl Scouts this Saturday, April 6th from 1-4:30 pm and get your hands on gun science experiments!

We're well into the semester and the forensic science labs are up and running! The students have worked on detecting gunpowder residue on fabrics using different methods to enhance the particles when covered by blood stains.

Today in chemistry history (March 1st, 1896), Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity. Nowadays, radioactivity is used in many important applications including in the treatment of cancer.

Join the Biochemistry Club today at 5 pm for a fun game of kahoot!

Join the Biochemistry Club for another semester of great events!

The Chemistry Club attended the WIU Organization Fair 🧪 . If you missed it, join the club at one of its many events.

WIU scholarship programs represent a strong tradition of helping WIU students. Check out the available scholarships and learn how to apply!

Scholarships - WIU Up to $10,000 in Scholarships awarded to individuals annually. $10M in scholarships are awarded each year at Western Illinois University. WIU scholarship programs represent a strong tradition of helping WIU students, and are continually growing, with new scholarships established every year.

Last week, the WIU Chemistry and Physics Clubs hosted their annual Demo Show, this year titled Barbenheimer. The Demo Show is a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase their passion for science and share their knowledge with the community.

Join the WIU Chemistry and Physics Club for the annual Science Demo Show open to the public. This year's theme is BARBENHEIMER!

The WIU Biochemistry Club is celebrating Mole Day today at 5 pm in 203 Currens Hall. Stop by to make Mole Day cards!

At the Midwest ACS conference in St. Louis, WIU chemistry students from Dr. John Determan's research lab presented their research on carbon dots and nanoparticles. It always inspiring to see young scientists share their knowledge with such confidence and passion.

WIU Chemistry alumnus, Elijah Openiyi (Purdue University), is a co-author of a recently published review article on "Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water treatment residuals: Occurrence and desorption".

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals that can be found in surface and ground waters. These chemicals can potentially harm people, which is why it’s important to examine them. The researchers studied the byproduct of water treatment, called water treatment residuals (WTRs), to see if they contain PFAS. They found that only one type of PFAS, called perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), was present in the samples. The concentrations of PFAAs were low, meaning that WTRs are not a major source of PFAS. In fact, some types of WTRs may even be helpful in reducing PFAS in the environment.

Original article: Gravesen, C. R., Lee, L. S., Alukkal, C. R., Openiyi, E. O., & Judy, J. D. (2023). Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water treatment residuals: Occurrence and desorption. Journal of Environmental Quality, 00, 00–00.

WIU Chemistry alumn, Bishnu P. Neupane (The University of Iowa), is a co-author of a recently published review article on "New Developments in Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalysis for Amine Synthesis".

Asymmetric catalysis with chiral phosphoric acids (CPAs) has had an enormous impact on organic reactions in the field of medicinal and natural product chemistry. The process involves using phosphodiester derivatives, which offer linkages to different chiral alcohols and diols. This allows the CPA to pass stereochemical information to the reactants via ion-pairing and/or H-bonding interactions of the P=O and O–H bonds.

Original article: Neupane P. Bishnu and Friestad K. Gregory, New Developments in Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalysis for Amine Synthesis, Current Organic Chemistry 2022; 26(10).

Join us! The Department of Chemistry is hosting a Poster Day for our new undergraduate students to learn about the different research projects that are being done in the various faculty labs.

The Poster Day will be Wednesday, October 11th from 3:30 - 5:00 pm in the 2nd floor hallway of Currens.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 celebrates the game-changing discovery and advancement of quantum dots. These ridiculously tiny nanoparticles hold the key to unlocking incredible properties. Not only are they lighting up our TVs and LED lamps, but they're also lending a helping hand to surgeons in removing tumor tissue and so much more.

WIU Chemistry alumn, Madeleine K. Wilsey (University of Rochester), is a co-author of a recently published review article on "Advanced Electrocatalytic Redox Processes for
Environmental Remediation of Halogenated Organic Water Pollutants".

Halogenated organic compounds cause contamination in the environment and water sources. There are three types of halogens: fluorine, chlorine, and bromine, and all can be damaging to both the environment and human health. One of the ways to clean up these chemicals includes advanced redox processes, which use electricity or heat to break down the halogens.

Original article:
Wilsey MK, Taseska T, Meng Z, Yu W, Müller AM. Advanced electrocatalytic redox processes for environmental remediation of halogenated organic water pollutants. Chem Commun (Camb). 2023 Sep 22. doi: 10.1039/d3cc03176d. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37740361.

The biochemistry club is hosting a chemistry-themed Kahoot night this Thursday at 5 pm in the Currens Conference Room! There will be snacks and drinks, as well as prizes for the winners. We'd love to see you all there!

Meet Lillie Purcell. Lillie is an undergraduate student in the Department of Chemistry. She recently presented her research on "Qβ Conjugate Vaccine for Combatting He**in Addiction" as part of her summer research program at Michigan State University under the supervision of Dr. Xuefei Huang.

Opioid addiction has become a major public health crisis worldwide, claiming countless lives every year. These powerful drugs are highly addictive and can easily wreak havoc on the brain, causing devastating effects on an individual's mental and physical health. He**in, in particular, is notorious for its ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier and directly attach to receptors in the brain, leading to intense highs and prolonged addiction. That's why the development of a Qβ conjugate vaccine by the Huang lab is such an exciting topic in the fight against opioid addiction. By stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies that prevent the drug from crossing the critical blood-brain barrier, we can potentially help break the cycle of addiction and save countless lives.

Are you a chemistry enthusiast on the lookout for a community of like-minded individuals? Look no further than the Chemistry Club! The club meets every Wednesday at 5 pm in the 210 Currens conference room. As a member, you'll get the opportunity to delve deeper into the fascinating world of chemistry, attend informative seminars, and participate in fun experiments with other members. Join us and discover everything there is to know about the elements that make up the world around us!

The WIU Biochemistry Club is hosting its first meeting this Thursday (8/31) at 5 p.m. in the 210 Currens board room! They’ll have snacks and be making stickers!

Congratulations chemistry graduate students!

Chemistry undergraduate and graduate students presented their research at the annual Natural Sciences Research Day.

Participating in research is a great way to get to know fellow students and professors and to get work experience before even graduating!

Graduate student Dairo Gbenga is doing his thesis research with associate professor Dr. Mette Soendergaard in the Department of Chemistry. After graduating with his Master's degree in May, he has been hired as a Research Assistant II at Harvard Medical School, working in the laboratory of WIU alumnus and vascular biologist Dr. Timothy Hla.

http://www.wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=19158

WIU chemistry graduate student, Funmilola Anjorin, has been offered a doctoral degree program position at the United States' first comprehensive cancer center in New York.

http://wiu.edu/news/newsrelease.php?release_id=19185