James Canary Professor of Chemistry B.S., University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D., UCLA; NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University Email: james.canary@nyu.edu Phone:  212-998-8422 Lab Homepage:  http://www.nyu.edu/pages/canary/index.html

Areas of Research/Interest: Organic, bioorganic, and bioinorganic chemistry; chiral materials; nanoscience; molecular imaging; supramolecular chemistry

Research Description: Dr. James W. Canary's group uses molecular modeling and organic synthesis to engineer materials with designed properties at the interface between biomedical chemistry and nanoscience. One effort in the group is the application of stereochemistry to the development of materials for molecular electronics and nanotechnology . We design and synthesize molecules containing "triggers" that induce shape changes and optical responses. Such behavior might be useful in the future development of optical display or electronic technology. A second area of research involves imaging. We design of molecules for fluorescent sensing metal ions of importance to neurobiology. Other imaging projects are underway in collaboration with scientists at the NYU School of Medicine. In collaboration with Ned Seeman's group, we develop methods for DNA- directed assembly of organic polymers. The goal is to harness the exquisite structural control of DNA nanotechnology for the synthesis of organic materials and devices.

Select Publications:

Zhang, J.; Siu, K.; Lin, C.H.; Canary, J.W.  “Conformational Dynamics of Cu(I) Complexes of Tripodal Ligands:  Steric Control of Molecular Motion,” New. J. Chem., 2005, 29, 1147-51.

Zhang, J.; Albelda, M.T.; Liu, Y.; Canary, J.W.  “Chiral Nanotechnology,” Chirality, 2005,  17, 404-420.

Holmes, A.E.; Simpson, S.A.; Canary, J.W.  “Stereodynamic Coordination Complexes:  Dependence of Exciton-Coupled Circular Dichroism Spectra on Molecular Conformation and Shape,” Monatshefte Chem., 2005, 136, 461-475.

Isaacman, S.I.; Kumar, R.; del Barco, E.; Kent, A.D.; Canary, J.W.; Jerschow, A.  “Critical Examination of Fe8 as a Contrast Agent for Magnetic Resonance Imaging,” Polyhedron, 2005, 24, 2691-4.

Dai, Z.; Xu, X.; Canary, J.W.  “Rigidified Tripodal Chiral Ligands in the Asymmetric Recognition of Amino Compounds,” Chirality, 2005, 17, S227-33.

Royzen, M.; Dai, Z.; Canary, J.W.  “Ratiometric Displacement Approach to Cu(II) Sensing by Fluorescence,” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 1612-3.

Chiu, Y.-H.; Gabriel, G.G.; Canary, J.W.  "Stability Constants of Ternary Complexes of Acetohydroxamic Acid, Zinc(II), and Ter-or Tetradentate Ligands," Inorg. Chem. 2005, 44, 40-44.

Dai, Z.; Proni, G.; Mancheno, D.; Karimi, S.; Berova, N.; Canary, J.W.;  "Detection of Metal Ions by Differential Circularly Polarized Fluorescence Excitation," J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004, 126, 11760-11761.

Zhu, L., P. S. Lukeman, and N. C. Seeman. Nylon-DNA: Single-stranded DNA with a covalently stitched nylon lining. J. Am. 
Chem. Soc. 125:10178–9, 2003.

Barcena, H. S., A. E. Holmes, S. Zahn, and J. W. Canary. Inversion of helicity in propeller-shaped molecules derived from s-methyl cysteine and methioninol. Org. Lett. 5:709–11, 2003.

Dai, Z., X. Xu, and J. W. Canary. Stereochemical control of Zn(II)/Cu(II) selectivity. 1414–5, 2002.