A Central College professor and four students have had their research on a byproduct of indigo dye featured in RSC Advances, a peer-reviewed journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
James Shriver, professor of chemistry; Katelyn Wang, Class of 2021; Andrew Patterson, Class of 2021; James De Young, Class of 2019; and Richard Lipsius, Class of 2020; published the research paper “Exploring an Anomaly: The Synthesis of 7,7′-Diazaindirubin Through a 7-Azaindoxyl Intermediate” in the broad-topic chemistry journal in October.
Their research focuses on two methods of generating indirubin, a side product from commercial indigo production. Indirubin is emerging as a promising pharmaceutical platform, with its derivatives being studied for their anti-cancer properties, potential to treat diabetes and anti-inflammatory response.
Indigo has been used and independently developed as a dye in many cultures. It dates back as early as 6,000 years ago in Peru.
“This paper really is the hub that will spur on numerous additional publications as we complete the work,” Shriver says. “There’s potential for a lot more.”
Shriver says students continue to work on different angles of the project each semester.
The research was supported by funding from the Moore Family Foundation, the Arthur J. Bosch Endowment for Student Research and the John Wesselink Endowment. The project started in Summer 2019 and ran through Summer 2020. The paper was published Oct. 6.
With more than 50,000 members, the Royal Society of Chemistry is one of the world’s leading chemistry communities. Its members and publications work to shape the future of chemical sciences – for the benefit of science and humanity – through promotion, support and celebration of chemistry.
Shriver has been a professor at Central since 2003. His areas of expertise include organic chemistry, synthesis of dyes and supramolecular chemistry.
