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<title>Dr. Laren Tolbert</title>
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<h2>Laren Tolbert</h2><br>
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School of Chemistry and Biochemistry<br>
Georgia Institute of Technology<br>
Atlanta, GA 30332-0400<br>
<img src = ../../home/images/phone.gif> (404) 894-4093 office<br>
(404) 894-7452 FAX<br>
<img src = ../../home/images/mail8.gif><a href =
"mailto:laren.tolbert@chemistry.gatech.edu">laren.tolbert@chemistry.gatech.edu
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|<A HREF="#bio">Biography
|<A HREF="#research">Research Interests</A>
|<A HREF="#publications">Publications</A>
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<strong>Biography</strong><p>
Prof. Tolbert was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and received his B. A. in
Chemisty and Mathematics Magna cum Laude at Tulane University in 1970.
At the University of Wisconsin, he was a Wisconsin Alumni Foundation
Predoctoral Fellow in 1971 and a National Science Foundation Predoctoral
Fellow in 1971-74, receiving his Ph. D. in 1975 under Howard Zimmerman
in the field of mechanistic organic photochemistry. He was a postdoctoral
fellow at Harvard University in 1975-76 under R. B. Woodward in the area
of natural product synthesis. In 1976 he began his career at the University
of Kentucky. He was a visiting scholar at the University of California-
Berkeley in 1984 and an A. P. Sloan Felllow in 1983-85. He moved to
Georgia Tech in 1985.<p>
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|<A HREF="#bio">Biography
|<A HREF="#research">Research Interests</A>
|<A HREF="#publications">Publications</A>
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<strong>Research Interests</strong><p>
Dr. Tolbert's research deals with the application of mechanistic organic
chemistry to a variety of problems in synthetic chemistry,
photochemistry, biochemistry, and materials science. Taking the broad
view that most problems of structure and function in biochemistry and
materials science are, at heart, problems in mechanistic organic
chemistry, he has sought to apply the diversity of tools available to the
modern physical organic chemist to bear on these problems. For instance,
the structure of charge carriers in conductive polymers has been probed by
synthesizing models for "solitons", the presumed charge carriers in such
systems. Similarly, radical cation ntermediates which are plausibly
involved in certain biooxidations, have been prepared for independent
verification of the regiochemistry and stereochemistry of the reaction.
Finally, by consideration of the excited-state charge distribution in their
conjugate anions, molecules have been synthesized which exhibit
enormous (dpKa>-12) differences in excited-state acidities, allowing
kinetic studies of proton transfer to weak bases. Finally, the application
of modern techniques to the efficient synthesis of old and new polymers
is under active investigation.<p>
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<H3><center>
|<A HREF="#bio">Biography</a>
|<A HREF="#research">Research Interests</A>
|<A HREF="#publications">Publications</A>
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<strong>Recent Publications</strong><p>
1.Zhanqi He and Laren Tolbert, "A New Cross-linking Agent for Polyimides",
Preprints, Am.Chem. Soc. Div. Polym. Chem., 33, 1000 (1992).
<p>
2. Laren M. Tolbert and Mark E. Ogle, "Consequences of Fixed Soliton Length
for Molecular'Switching': à, -Diarylpolyenyl Anions", Synthetic Metals,
51, 391 (1992).
<p>
3.Laren M. Tolbert, Thomas Netzel, Susan M. Fitzwater, Narciso Raya, and
Michael Stapleton,"Substituent Effects on Carbanion Photophysics. An
Application of The Energy Gap Law," J. Phys. Chem., 96, 4492 (1992).
<p>
4. Laren M. Tolbert, "Solitons in a Box. The Organic Chemistry of Conducting
Polymers." Accs. Chem. Res., 25, 561 (1992).
<p>
5. D. L. Tomasko, B. L. Knutson, C. A. Eckert, J. E. Haubrich, and
Laren M. Tolbert,."Fluorescence Investigation of Consolvent/Solute
Interactions in Supercritical Fluid Solutions," Am. Chem. Soc. Symp. Ser.,
488, 84 (1992).
<p>
6.Janusz Kowalik, Laren M. Tolbert, L. A. Bottomley, Y. Ding, K. Vogt, and
P. Kohl,"Strongly Adherent Conductive Heteropolymers", Synthetic Metals, 55,
1171 (1993).
<p>
7. Laren M. Tolbert and Xiaodong Zhao, "Extended Cyanine Dyes," Synthetic
Metals, 57, 4782 (1993).
<p>
8. Laren M. Tolbert, Lilia Cuesta Harvey, and Rachel C. Lum, "Excited-State
Proton Transferd from Hydroxyalkyl Naphthols," J. Phys. Chem., 97, 13335
(1993).
<p>
9. L. M. Tolbert and J. E. Haubrich, "Photoexcited Proton Transfer from
Enhanced Photoacids," J. Am. Chem. Soc., 116, 10593 (1994).
<p>
10. S. W. Lemire, K. L. Busch, X. Zhao, and L. M. Tolbert, "Beam-induced
Reaction between mNBA and Conjugated Pyridinium Compounds in Fast Atom
Bombardment Mass Spectrometry," J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom., 5, 1017 (1994).
<p>
11. L. M. Tolbert, X.-J. Sun, and E. C. Ashby, "A Photochemical Probe for
Single Electron Transfer in Nucleophilic Aliphatic Substitution: Evidence for
Geminate Radical Coupling in the Solvent Cage," J. Am. Chem. Soc., 117, (1995).
<p>
12. L. M. Tolbert, X. Zhao, Y. Ding and L.A. Bottomley, "Bis(ferrocenyl)
polymethine Cations. A Prototype Molecular Wire with Redox Active End Groups",
J. Am. Chem. Soc.,117, 12891 (1995).
<p>
13. J. Kowalik, L. M. Tolbert, Y. Ding, and L. A. Bottomley, "Poly(3-undecyl
thiophene-co-thiophene), a Novel Approach to Highly Organized Polyheterocycles,
" Preprints, Am. Chem. Soc. Div. Polym. Mat. Sci. Eng., 72, 325 (1995).
<p>
14. Laren M. Tolbert and Sandra Linares-Samaniego, "A Proton-Transfer Probe
of a Polymer-Water Interface. 2-Naphthol-Labelled Poly(isopropyl)acrylamide," J
. Am. Chem. Soc. 118, 0000 (1996).
<p>
15. Laren M. Tolbert and Xiaodong Zhao, "Wiring Up Nanostructures," Modular Chemistr
y, NATO Adv. Symp. Series,Kluwer Acad. Publishers, 1996, in press.
<p>
16.P. Anzenbacher, T. Niwa, L. M. Tolbert, S. R. Sirimanne, and F. P. Gueng
erich, "Oxidation of 9-Alkyl Anthracenes by Cytochrome P450 2B1, Horseradish Per
oxidase, and Iron Tetraphenylporphin/Iodosylbenzene Systems: Anaerobic and Aero
bic Mechanisms," Biochemistry, 35, 2512 (1996).
<p>
<strong>Submitted or in press:</strong><p>
1. L. M. Tolbert, "Synthesis of Conductive Polymers," a Textbook in
Conductive Polymers, M.Aldissi, ed., CRC Press, in press.
<p>
2.L. M. Tolbert, Joanne Bedlek, and Michael Terapane,"Spectral Evidence for
Single Electron Transfer in Nucleophilic Aliphatic Substitution of a Carbanion
by Methyl Iodide," J. Am. Chem. Soc., submitted.
<p>
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