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Author: Brennen Davis | Major: Biochemistry | Semester: Spring 2025

My name is Brennen Davis and I am an incoming senior in the Fulbright Honors College currently majoring in a B.S. in chemistry with a focus in biochemistry. My mentor is Dr. Maggie He of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and I have completed two semesters of research in the He Lab. I conduct research on the synthesis of belt-functionalized pillararenes through the use of acetals. Pillararenes are a macrocyclic class of compounds consisting of “n” number of p-dialkoxybenzene connected together by methylene bridges. Pillararenes are a relatively new class of molecules that previously had issues with functionalization due to the methods of synthesis being inefficient; however, the He group discovered that acetals could be used in synthesis rather than formaldehyde, which is what was used previously. This method is safer, as formaldehyde is a known human-carcinogen, as well as allows for functionalization of the pillararene. My job in the lab was to synthesize new pillarenes to determine possible compounds for future characterization.

I chose Dr. He as my mentor my sophomore year as I was just finishing organic chemistry II and found synthesis to be very interesting and a topic I would like to pursue for my honors thesis. Dr. He’s pillararene project was very enticing and I knew it would be a good choice for what I wanted to learn. Pillararenes themselves and macrocycles aren’t taught in the organic chemistry curriculum, so learning about a new class of molecules was interesting and it would also be the perfect opportunity for me to use skills I learned in the organic chemistry lab courses in a more practical setting. Organic synthesis takes a lot of time and patience, as the reactions necessary for it can span from taking 30 minutes to taking days, and especially with this project I would be synthesizing reactants, such as acetals, to use in the pillararene reactions. It takes a lot of patience but also know-how to do the best research possible.

The biggest challenge for myself, and probably every undergraduate researcher, is switching your thinking from theoretical chemistry to practicing chemistry in a laboratory setting. It can seem overwhelming, but you slowly develop your skills and learn new techniques that allow you to achieve what you want. I worked with a graduate student, now Ph.D., named Babitha Machireddy who trained me in organic synthesis inside the lab. Having her help was invaluable to learning lab techniques and overcoming the anxiety of being in my first lab setting. Dr. He helped us with our research by giving commentary on results presented at lab group meetings along with figuring out what the next steps are in the research. I would also like to acknowledge post-doc, Dr. Ravindra Gupta, and graduate student Ujjawal Tyagi for their feedback and help during group meetings.

My goals for the future semesters are to publish our data along with continuing research to best optimize conditions for the synthesis of belt-functionalized pillararenes. I also plan on attending a future ACS conference. These compounds have many possibilities to be functionalized, so I hope to be able to contribute as much as possible to research during my time at the University of Arkansas. As of the summer of 2025, I am conducting drug synthesis research at the University of Sheffield-Hallam in Sheffield, England and I plan on using this knowledge to better improve my skills both at the University of Arkansas and as well prepare me for graduate school.