Choon Lee
Central Michigan University, MI·Chemistry
During chronic inflammation, the body produces free radicals, reactive molecules that damage DNA, fats and proteins. This damage, called oxidative stress, is linked to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, asthma and atherosclerosis.
- Fields
Chemistry
Pharmacology
Biochemistry
- Topics
antioxidants
dendrimers
dendrons
- Grants
- 1 known grant, last ended Aug 2026
What they work on
- Synthesize metal-trapping dendrons, wedge-shaped branched molecules, decorated with vitamin B6 (pyridoxal, pyridoxal-5'-phosphate) or syringaldehyde building blocks, and link them into water-soluble dendrimers using alkyne-azide click chemistry.
- Measure the antioxidant activity of the new dendrimers in chemical assays and their ability to protect DNA and LDL from free-radical damage, and test whether they avoid metal-driven pro-oxidant effects on DNA.
- Assess the toxicity of the dendrimers to cells using the MTT assay, and test their anti-inflammatory effects on the release of inflammatory signaling molecules called cytokines in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells.
More about the research
Antioxidant supplements like vitamins C and E have given mixed results in clinical studies. One reason may be a pro-oxidant effect. In the presence of metals such as copper or iron, many natural antioxidants actually generate more free radicals. The lab previously made dendrimers, large tree-shaped molecules with many branches. These carried antioxidant groups on their surface and could trap metal ions inside. One of them was 18 times more potent than vitamin C in a standard radical-scavenging test, and it showed no pro-oxidant effect. However, these dendrimers did not dissolve in water. As a result, they could not neutralize water-soluble radicals such as the hydroxyl radical.
Why it matters
Safe, potent antioxidants that do not turn harmful in the presence of metals could become treatments for diseases driven by chronic inflammation. These include cancer, diabetes, asthma, atherosclerosis, arthritis and neurodegenerative disease. Such compounds could also help settle the debate over whether antioxidant supplements prevent or worsen disease.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Jeffrey Lipshultz
Stony Brook University, NY·Chemistry·Early-career
Develop bench-stable bipyridinyl titanium chloride complexes that, when excited by light through ligand-to-metal charge transfer, generate chlorine radicals that functionalize C–H bonds through hydrogen atom transfer.
Yolanda Vasquez
Oklahoma State University, OK·Chemistry
Develop conjugation chemistry that attaches methotrexate to gold nanoparticles through linkers that break in response to reactive oxygen species or acidic joint fluid, creating a slow-release carrier for joint injection.
Dali Liu
Loyola University Chicago, IL·Biochemistry
Improve the stability and sensitivity of genetically encoded GABA sensors built from the bacterial regulator GabR, using the natural fluorescence of its bound PLP (a vitamin B6–derived cofactor) and FRET signals excited from PLP.
The school
Central Michigan University: 2 labs on PI Pages, $27M a year on research, 76 research doctorates a year.
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