Date of Award
Spring 2026
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Academic Program
Chemistry BS
Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
First Advisor
Dr. Karl J Wallace
Advisor Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Abstract
A new family of oxime-functionalized coumarin-quinoline derivatives, 5a and 5b, has been synthesized through a five-step procedure in high yields (45-98%). Compound 5a is designed as the sensing probe, while 5b serves as a model system to support mechanistic understanding. The sensing approach is based on the reactivity of the oxime group, which can undergo phosphorylation in the presence of organophosphate nerve agents. Based on this behavior, it is hypothesized that 5a can react irreversibly with a nerve agent mimic. The structures were fully characterized by NMR, FTIR, and HRMS. Photophysical properties of 5a were studied in various solvents, including DMSO, MeOH, EtOH, DMF, MeCN, EtOAc, CHCl3, and PhCH3. The results show that 5a exhibits a large Stokes shift (197 nm) in acetonitrile, with fluorescence emission at 623 nm upon excitation at 426 nm. This has established that the molecule can be used as a probe. The ultimate goal of the project is to detect sarin using the molecule.
Copyright
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Recommended Citation
Pokhrel, Nishrenika, "Synthesis and Photophysical Studies of Coumarin-Quinoline Derivatives" (2026). Honors Theses. 1097.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/1097