Professor Janet Morrow

Professor Janet Morrow
UB Distinguished Professor
Larkin Professor
Department of Chemistry
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Buffalo
Host: Professor Valerie Pierre

Abstract

Macrocycles, Cages and Liposome-based Cobalt and Iron Complexes as Magnetic Resonance Imaging Probes

MRI probes or contrast agents contain paramagnetic metal ion complexes that produce contrast through changes in proton relaxation times or water proton shift. Research in our laboratory is focused on transition metal complexes as 1) alternatives to Gd(III) based contrast agents, 2) probes that are responsive to the biological environment and 3) as agents that accumulate in tumors for drug delivery. Macrocyclic ligands are central to our research through modulating the spin and oxidation states of cobalt and iron complexes in aqueous solutions. For example, macrocyclic complexes of high spin Co(II) produce highly shifted water protons and can be loaded into liposomes and/or incorporated into the bilayer to produce chemical exchange saturation transfer (lipoCEST) agents. These liposomal agents are responsive to redox or pH changes in solution as detected by a change in the asymmetry of the z-spectrum. High spin Fe(III) macrocyclic complexes show enhanced water proton T1 relaxation as potential Gd(III) alternatives. Incorporation of Fe(III) complexes into liposomes produces T1 agents for tracking the delivery of intraliposomal contents to murine tumors. Finally Fe(III) centers can be linked together to form self-assembled cages that behave as blood pool agents and accumulate in murine tumor models.

Janet Morrow

Janet Morrow received her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara and her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. From there she did postdoctoral work for three years, first at the University Bordeaux, France on a NSF postdoctoral fellowship and then at the University of California, San Diego. She started her independent career at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York in 1988, and moved up through the ranks to her current position as SUNY Distinguished Professor and Larkin Chair. Her research interests are in the field of bioinorganic chemistry with a current focus on transition metal ion complexes as probes for biomedical imaging. Her research contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the American Chemical Society Schoellkopf Medal, UB Exceptional Scholar, Alfred P. Sloan fellowship, NIH First award and the NSF Special Award for Creativity. She is currently an associate editor of the ACS journal, Inorganic Chemistry. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).