Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Amino-Retinoid A4-Spermine

Authors

Jeffrey Swallow, Brigham Young University
Dr. Heidi Vollmer-Snarr, Brigham Young University

Keywords

Age Related Macular Degeneration, AMD, vision loss, A4-Spermine

College

Physical and Mathematical Sciences

Department

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Abstract

Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in developed countries. The accumulation of lipofuscin in the eye causes death of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) leading to blindness (1,2). The lipofuscin chemical A2E has been shown to have cytotoxic effect in RPE, yet much of lipofuscin has remained uncharacterized (3). We have shown that other compounds exist in lipofuscin through preliminary mass spectroscopy (MS) and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) data collected from lipofuscin samples. Our lab is working to first characterize these lipofuscin compounds and then we will also study their oxidative products in order to better understand the mechanism of AMD and develop improved treatment.

Recommended Citation

Swallow, Jeffrey and Vollmer-Snarr, Dr. Heidi (2013) "Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Amino-Retinoid A4-Spermine," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 2508.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/2508