Evan Savage '08 (Delmar, New York) is pursuing a 10-week summer research project in organic chemistry titled "Natural Product Extraction of the Sea Sponge Stylotella aurantium" with Robin Kinnel, Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry.
Savage's goal is to extract pure palau'amine, a natural compound found in the sponge. He is using extraction techniques such as running ethanol and water through the sponges to separate the organic and aqueous materials. "We are interested in [palau'amine'] because it has cytotoxic activity," said Savage. This compound has been shown to be very active against cancer cells and has potential applications in cancer treatments. The pure palau'amine Savage extracts will be sent to a lab at the University of Chicago to be further analyzed. If results show anti-cancer or antibiotic activity, "we will need to find a way to make [palau'amine in the lab] or produce it more quickly," said Savage.
The most difficult part of the work, said Savage, is that he is working on a macro scale. "Everything takes longer," he said. "Instead of doing one experiment in four hours [like in a regular lab class], it takes four weeks." Another concern is that the sponges are difficult to get, and mistakes or accidents can ruin a whole experiment.
Savage is not new to summer research at Hamilton; he worked in Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields' lab last summer doing computational chemistry research. After taking Organic Chemistry II with Professor Kinnel, Savage made plans to work in his lab over the summer. "Organic chemistry is my passion," said Savage, who, when he is not in the lab, participates in the Study Buddies program at Hamilton during the academic year.
-- by Laura Trubiano '07
