Faculty & Research // Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry // University of Notre Dame

Biography

Professor Smith earned a B. S. degree from the University of Melbourne, and a Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University. He conducted postdoctoral research at Oxford University and then at Columbia University before joining the faculty at Notre Dame (1991). He has published more than 170 research papers and review articles and he is currently the Emil T. Hofman Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Director of the Notre Dame Integrated Imaging Facility. He also serves on the science advisory committee for the funding agency Research Corporation.

Research Interests

The general area is bioorganic chemistry but the research is quite multidisciplinary and encompasses topics ranging from fundamental supramolecular chemistry to small animal imaging. A major aim is to develop novel fluorescent imaging probes that can detect tumors, dying tissue, and bacterial infection in living animals. These imaging probes will accelerate the pre-clinical stages of drug discovery and development, and also enable new strategies for studying the biology of human disease. The probes may eventually be employed in humans for fluorescence guided surgery. The Supramolecular Chemistry program designs and evaluates host molecules, transporter molecules, catalysts, and molecular machines. A notable discovery is a family of interlocked molecules called squaraine-rotaxanes which have many potential applications as extremely bright and stable fluorescent Near-IR dyes.

Naughton Exchange Program - Fellowship Opportunity 2010

The Naughton Graduate Student Exchange Program enables advanced students to experience international education at one of Ireland’s leading universities and at the University of Notre Dame.

Recent Papers

Non-Invasive Optical Imaging of Staphylococcus aureus Bacterial Infection in Living Mice Using a Bis-Dipicolylamine-Zinc(II) Affinity Group Conjugated to a Near Infrared Fluorophore. Leevy, W. M. et al. Bioconjugate Chemistry 2008, 19, 686-692.

Optical Imaging of Mammary and Prostate Tumors Using a Near Infrared Zinc(II)-Dipicolylamine Probe for Anionic Cell Surfaces. Smith, B. A. et al. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2010, 132, 67-69.

Efficient Synthesis of Squaraine Rotaxane Dendrimers. Xiao, S. et al. Organic Letters, 2010, 12, 140-143.

For more publications, click the link:
Link

Discovery and Early Development of Squaraine Rotaxanes. Gassensmith, J. J. et al. Chemical Communications, 2009, 6329-6338.