UC Riverside

Heterocyclic have been utilized in a variety of applications ranging from simple solvents to anti-cancer drugs. This dissertation prepares and analyzes new heterocyclic rings with a view toward their application for hydrogen storage or pharmaceutical uses.

Previous studies of ethylene diaminoborane have shown its potential as a hydrogen storage molecule. Using a different purification method from the published literature, a sample of ethylene diaminoborane having a slight impurity was achieved. Analysis of the impurity verified that it is [B3H8]¯ anion, and its effect on the properties of ethylene diaminoborane, such as dehydrogenation, was investigated. The resulting end product upon dehydrogenation of ethylene diaminoborane was characterized as polymers of its heterocycle rings.

Ethylene diaminoborane is a derivative of ammonia borane, a widely studied hydrogen storage molecule. Two molecules of ammonia borane can isomerize to form diammoniate of diborane. By tethering the two molecules of ammonia borane and allowing isomerization to happen in the gas phase, different charged heterocycles can form. Investigation of these heterocyclic cations in the gas phase show their potential as hydrogen storage compounds.

One field which heterocycles are widely used is in pharmaceutical agents. Using established experience with hydrogen bonding between base pairs, a new heterocycle structure has been designed and synthesized. This molecule was designed to bind to a specific secondary structure, known as i-motif, of single-stranded DNA, which might possibly be found in oncogenes. The synthetic pathway of the target molecule is outlined in this dissertation. Preliminary studies of this molecule show potential binding to its deprotonated form and also to some DNA strands that form the i-motif.