Patrick Holland uses the 66-CS1200 to study the redox properties of new coordination compound

Dr. Patrick Holland and his new research group in bioinorganic chemistry at the University of Rochester study inorganic complexes that resemble the active sites of metal-containing enzymes. By investigating the reactions of these complexes and their mechanisms, it is possible to gain insights into the ways that analogous biological reactions take place. Holland's group is especially interested in iron-containing compounds that perform redox reactions.

One example is the reduction of dinitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3), which is an integral part of the global nitrogen cycle. This is performed in nature by nitrogenase, which channels six electrons into the iron-containing active site for the reaction. The Holland group, in turn, studies small iron complexes, their interaction with dinitrogen, and the reduction of these complexes in order to form chemically reasonable hypotheses about what happens at analogous sites in the enzyme.

Their Cypress Systems 66-CS1200 will be an important part of this research effort. They will use electrochemical methods to measure the redox potential of their compounds, to do bulk reductions of their iron-dinitrogen complexes, and to measure the number of electrons taken up by different reduction processes. By using the 66-EE014 PEEK mini-electrode kit with the 66-EE009 electrode, they will analyze small amounts of very air- and water-sensitive iron compounds in an inert-atmosphere glove box.

Patrick Holland received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University in 1993 and his Ph. D. from Berkeley in 1997, working with Robert Bergman and Richard Andersen. After training in bioinorganic chemistry with William Tolman at the University of Minnesota, he began his independent career as an Assistant Professor at Rochester in 2000.

Here is a partial list of Dr. Holland's research publications.

Holland Citations

J. M. Smith, R. J. Lachicotte, K. A. Pittard, T. R. Cundari, G. Lukat-Rodgers, K. R. Rodgers, P. L. Holland, "Stepwise Reduction of Dinitrogen Bond Order by a Low-Coordinate Iron Complex," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 9222.

P. L. Holland, W. B. Tolman, "A Structural Model of the Type 1 Copper Protein Active Site: N2S(thiolate)S(thioether) Ligation in a Cu(II) Complex," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 6331-6332.

P. L. Holland, W. B. Tolman, "Three-Coordinate Cu(II) Complexes: Structural Models of Trigonal-Planar Type 1 Copper Protein Active Sites," J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 7270-7271.

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