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Associate Professor Louis M Rendina

Associate Professor

Contact Details

School of Chemistry, Building F11
The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
E-mail address: lou.rendina@sydney.edu.au
Telephone: +61-2-9351-4781
Fax: +61-2-9351-3329
Web:http://sydney.edu.au/science/chemistry/~lmrgroup

Career Highlights/History

B.Sc.(Hons I) ANU, 1988

Ph.D. ANU, 1991

ANU IAS Postdoctoral Fellow, 1991-1993

NSERC Canada International Fellow, 1993-1995

Lecturer, University of Adelaide, 1996-1999

Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide, 2000-2003

Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney, September 2003 - 2007

Associate Professor, University of Sydney, 2008 -

Achievements/Awards

NSERC Canada International Fellowship, 1993-1995

Royal Australian Chemical Institute Biota Medal for Medicinal Chemistry, 2003

Royal Australian Chemical Institute Organometallic Chemistry Award 2004

Selby Research Award, 2005

Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI), 2005

Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (FRSC), 2007

Royal Society JWT Jones Fellowship (Oxford University), 2008

Areas of Research Interest

New medicinal agents for Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT).

Synthetic and mechanistic chemistry of the platinum group metals.

Metal-DNA chemistry.

Research

My current research program encompasses the synthesis and medicinal chemistry of new agents for Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT).  This work has culminated in the recent discovery of several new classes of boron agents for potential use in an experimental cancer treatment known as Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT).  In addition, we have recently initiated studies of new gadolinium agents for use as potential GdNCT agents.  Past and present funding sources of this major research program include: Australian Research Council, Cure Cancer Foundation of Australia, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Cancer Council SA and Sydney University Cancer Fund.

We also have an interest in the synthesis of nanomolecular platinum and palladium macrocycles for encircling double-helical DNA. Such entities have been termed "DNA Nanoshuttles" and their interaction with DNA would represent an unprecedented advance in the field of metal-DNA chemistry.

Publications (2007 to 2010)

  1. Schilter, D; Clegg, JK; Harding, MM and Rendina, LM. Platinum(II) and palladium(II) metallomacrocycles derived from cationic 4,4´-bipyridinium, 3-aminopyrazinium and 2-aminopyrimidinium ligands. Dalton Transactions, 39 (1), 239-247, 2010. DOI: 10.1039/b916579g

  2. Ioppolo, JA; Kassiou, M and Rendina, LM. Water-soluble phosphonium salts containing 1,12-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12). Tetrahedron Letters, 50 (47), 6457-6461, 2009. DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2009.08.112

  3. Ioppolo, JA; Clegg, JK and Rendina, LM. [1,2-Bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane-kappa2P,P'][7,8-bis(diphenylphosphino)-7,8-dicarba-nido-undecaborato-kappa2P,P']gold(I)-dichloromethane-water (2/1/1). Acta Crystallographica Section E-Structure Reports Online, E65, M603-U1249, 2009. DOI: 10.1107/S1600536809014937

  4. Crisp, MG and Rendina, LM. Dinuclear organoplatinum(II) complexes containing N-methylbenzamide. Canadian Journal of Chemistry-Revue Canadienne de Chimie, 87 (1), 212-216, 2009. (Invited article) DOI: 10.1139/V08-116

  5. Ioppolo, JA; Kepert, CJ; Price, DJ and Rendina, LM. Mono- and di-nuclear gold(I) complexes containing 1,12-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12). Australian Journal of Chemistry, 60 (11), 816-820, 2007. DOI: 10.1071/CH07232

  6. Ioppolo, JA; Clegg, JK and Rendina, LM. Dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12) derivatives of phosphonium salts: easy formation of nido-carborane phosphonium zwitterions. Dalton Transactions, (20), 1982-1985, 2007. DOI: 10.1039/b700689f

  7. Ching, HYV; Clegg, JK and Rendina, LM. Synthesis and preliminary DNA-binding studies of diimineplatinum(II) complexes containing 3-or 4-pyridineboronic acid. Dalton Transactions, (21) 2121-2126, 2007. DOI: 10.1039/b618668h

  8. Crossley, EL; Ziolkowski, EJ; Coderre, JA and Rendina, LM. Boronated DNA-binding compounds as potential agents for boron neutron capture therapy. Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, 7 (3), 303-313, 2007.