Associate Professor Chemistry ​ Dow Science Complex 343 989-774-3289 choon.young.lee@cmich.edu

Education

Research Fields

• Synthesis of dendrimers
• Development of effective bioconjugation linkers
• Development of benign plasticizers

Current Research Projects

• Synthesis of dendrimer-based drug delivery vehicle. My research group is presently synthesizing various dendrimers to use as drug delivery vehicles. The dendrimer surface will be modified with drug molecules and targeting agents. The targeting agents will direct the dendrimer-drug conjugate to the diseased site, thus localizing therapeutics in the target organ. The drug delivery vehicle we are developing can be used for many different diseases by changing the surface drug molecules and targeting agents.
• Synthesis and evaluation of bioconjugation linkers. Another area of my research is the development of effective bioconjugation linkers. Most currently available bioconjugation linkers have functional groups that are unstable in water, thus not useful for biological agents. In my laboratory, we are developing hetero-bi-functional linkers that contain two different reactive ends that are stable in water. These linkers will then join two biomolecules in a simple and efficient manner.
• Synthesis of benign plasticizers. Plasticizers are chemicals added to plastics to increase their flexibility. Since the plasticizer molecules are not covalently attached to the plastics, they can leach out. Many currently used plasticizers are toxic and therefore pose health hazards. Our aim is to develop plasticizers which are nontoxic to humans. We are trying to develop the plasticizers using amino acids and biodegradable bio-based materials (e.g. lactic acid, ethanol, succinic acid, lysine, etc).

Selected Publications

• Lee, C.Y.; Sharma, A.; Cheong, J.E.; Nelson, J.E. Synthesis and antioxidant properties of dendritic polyphenols. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2009, 19(22), 6326-6330.
• Lee, C.Y.; Ki, D.W.; Sharma, A. Method for amine-amine attachment in nanodevice preparation. J. Mater. Sci. 2009, volume 44 (12), 3179-3185.
• Desai, A.; Lee, C.; Sharma, L.; Sharma, A. Lysozyme refolding with cyclodextrins: Structure activity relationship. Biochimie, 2006, 88, 1435-1445.
• Hanson, R.N.; Lee, C.Y.; Friel, C., "Novel steroidal anti-estrogens and anti-androgens and uses thereof". 2006, Patent No: 7,041,839.
• Hanson, R.N.; Lee, C.Y.; Friel, C.; Dillis, R.; Hughes, A.; DeSombre, E. Synthesis and evaluation of 17a-20E-21-(4-substituted phenyl)-19-norpregna-1,3,5(10),20-tetraene-3,17ß-diols as probes for the estrogen receptor a hormone binding domain. J. Med. Chem. 2003, 46, 2865-2876.
• Hanson, R.N.; Lee, C.Y.; DeSombre, E.; Hughes, A. Evaluation of 17?-E-(trifluoromethyl phenyl) vinyl estradiols as novel estrogen receptor ligands. Steroids, 2003, 68(2), 143-148.