Dr. Jon Henrikson is a Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Chemistry & Physics Department at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU).
EDUCATION
2004 – B.S. Chemistry, Emporia State University
2009 – M.S. Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma
2011 – Ph.D. Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma
2014 – Began teaching at SWOSU
RESEARCH
Dr. Jon Henrikson (Mentor)
Actively accepting research students for credit.
Project 1: Method Development and Determination of Glycine Metal Complex pKa’s by NMR and Visible Spectroscopy
The use of electron withdrawing groups is a well-known approach to change the chemical properties of a molecule, including the acidity. In previous studies, changes in pKa of previously synthesized glycine containing ligands with the presence or absence of electron withdrawing groups attached to the molecule were determined in protic organic solvents by visible spectroscopy. Currently, the focus of this project is to determine the effects of aprotic solvents have on the pKa’s of these ligands through monitoring the equilibrium of a weak acid-weak base chemical reaction by visible spectroscopy. With the determination of the pKa’s in the protic solvent by a published method, it will then be possible to work on developing a new method of analysis using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), as an alternative to study molecules that are lacking activity in the UV-Visible spectrum.
Project 2: Approaches to Create Fluorinated Compounds Through Microbial Biosynthesis
Secondary metabolites (natural products) have had a long, rich history with respect to their importance in the treatment of disease. Since 1980, greater than 60% of drugs developed were derived from natural sources. With the continued need for development of new compound leads, there is an interest in trying to utilize nature to create organofluorines (fluorinated organic compounds). The reason organofluorines are of particular interest is due to the expanding role in pharmaceuticals (almost one-third of the pharmaceutics currently on the market contain fluorine through laboratory synthesized approaches), along with being an important resource in the agrochemical industry.
In efforts to produce these classes of compound from nature, there are a couple of different avenues that can be investigated. First, there are a few examples in nature of microbes who can naturally catalyze the formation of a C-F bond through fluorinase enzymes. While only a handful of microorganisms have been shown to produce this enzyme, there are opportunities to search for potentially homologous enzymes and work to continue to understand the enzyme and enhance its activity. The studies of the fluorinase enzyme could be a project developed in collaboration with Dr. Keturah Adams.
A second approach would be introducing fluorine to biosynthetically talented microorganisms through feedstocks, such as amino acids, sugars, acetates, etc., that have fluorine already incorporated into the molecule and to see if they are able to incorporate these compounds into known biosynthetic pathways which have been well studied. This process would involve 1) hands-on experience, with collaborators, to synthesize the fluorinated feedstocks needed for studies, 2) “feeding” the microorganisms these compounds, and 3) determining the results of the feeding and trying to isolate unique fluorine incorporated compounds by tracking 19F-NMR.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: jon.henrikson@swosu.edu Office Number: CPP 202-D
Phone Number: 580-774-3120
TEACHING: BASIC COURSES
CHEM 1004 Gen Chem
CHEM 1004L Gen Chem Lab
CHEM 1203 Gen Chem I
CHEM 1252 Gen Chem I Lab
CHEM 1303 Gen Chem II
CHEM 1352 Gen Chem II Lab
TEACHING: ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
CHEM 3124/L Quantitative Analysis/Lab
CHEM 4234/L Instrumental Analysis/Lab
OTHER ACTIVITIES
AUG 2014-PRESENT
Chemistry Club Sponsor
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Henrikson, Jon C.; Ellis, Trevor K.; King, Jarrod; Chichewicz, Robert H.; Reappraising the Structures and Distribution of Metabolites from Black Aspergilli Containing Uncommon 2-Benzyl-4H-pyran-4-one and 2-Benzylpyridin-4(1H)-one Systems. Journal of Natural Products, 2011, 74, 1959-1964.
Cichewicz, Robert H.; Henrikson, Jon C.; Wang, Xiaoru; Branscum, Katie. Strategies for Accessing Microbial Secondary Metabolites from Silent Biosynthetic Pathways. In Manual of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 3rd Edition; Baltz, R. H.; Davies, J. E.; Demain, A. L. Eds., ASM Press, 2010, 78-95.
Henrikson, Jon C.; Gharfeh, Majed S.; Easton, Anne C.; Easton, James D.; Glenn, Karen L.; Shadfan, M.; Mooberry, Susan L.; Hambright, K. David; Cichewicz, Robert H. Reassessing the Ichthyotoxin Profile of Culture Prymnesium parvum (Golden Algae) and Comparing it to Samples Collected from Recent Freshwater Bloom and Fish Kill Events in North America. Toxicon, 2010, 55, 1396-1404.
Fisch, Katja M.; Gillaspy Allison F.; Gipson, M.; Henrikson, Jon C.; Hoover, Ashley R.; Jackson, L.; Najar, F.Z.; Waegele, H.; Cichewicz, Robert H. Chemical Induction of Silent Biosynthetic Pathway Transcription in Aspergillus niger. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2009, 26, 1199-1213.
