The Daily Bulletin

Please join the Chemistry Department for the seminar "Ruthenium Complexes That Modulate the Aggregation and Cytotoxicity of the Amyloid-β Peptide," presented by Michael Webb, assistant professor of chemistry at SUNY Geneseo, on Thursday, April 6, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 176. 

Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating neurological disorder where one of the primary pathological hallmarks is aggregate deposits of the peptide amyloid-beta (Aβ). Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved therapeutics that target and remove these deposits, as they offer clinical benefit; however, the soluble form of Aβ has also been recognized as being cytotoxic. This creates a critical need for novel therapeutics to ideally target both soluble and deposited Aβ, thereby perturbing both sides of the aggregation equilibrium. Metal-based compounds are propitious therapeutic candidates as they exploit the metalloprotein nature of Aβ, forming stable interactions with the soluble form of the peptide, thereby limiting its aggregation and toxicity. Dr. Webb and his team have prepared a small library of Ru complexes and evaluated their abilities to modulate the aggregation and cytotoxicity of the Aβ peptide such that structure-activity relationships (SAR) could be established. The results of these studies will be discussed, where SAR identified the importance of hydrogen-bonding functional groups improving the activity of the Ru complexes.