RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research
interests centre largely on metal-ion speciation in biofluids with
particular emphasis on blood plasma and natural waters. My broad
research interests may be subdivided into the following:
Bioinorganic
Chemistry:
Potentiometric
study of complexes formed between metal-ions and small biological
molecules; use of thermodynamic data to construct computer models
of biological systems, and to study perturbations caused by the
introduction of chelating agents into these systems.
Drug Design:
Design, synthesis
and study of metal complexes for use against several pathological
states, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease.
Medical Imaging:
Design and
synthesis of contrast agents for use in whole body MRI and
gammaray scintigraphy.
Solution
Structure of Neuropeptides:
In collaboration
with the department of Zoology, NMR is being used, together with
molecular modelling, to determine the structure of neuropeptides.
The neuropeptides of interest are insect adipokinetic hormones and
it is hoped that from a knowledge of the structure of the peptide
a structure activity relationship can be developed. Alternately
this could lead to new, species specific, insecticides.
Computer model
of Emulsion Coalescence:
Emulsions are
widely used in industry and nature. Thus margarine is an emulsion
of water-in-oil. Using a knowledge of the physics of coalescence a
computer model is being developed which can predict the stability
of different emulsion formulations.
Tissue distribution of Sm-edtmp
which is used for pain palliation in bone cancer patients.
REPRESENTATIVE
PUBLICATIONS
Metal-ion
speciation in blood plasma incorporating the bisphosphonate,
10-hydroxy-4-aminopropylidene- diphosphonate (APD), in therapeutic
radiopharmaceuticals J. R. Zeevaart, N. V. Jarvis, W. K. A. Louw,
G. E. Jackson, I. Cukrowski, C. J. Mouton. J. Inorg. Biochem.
73(4) (1999) 265.
Trace metal
excretion in patients with homozygous hypercholesterolaemia. G. E.
Jackson, R. Blewett, A. Rodgers, L. Wood, P. Jacobs. J. Trace
Elements Med. And Biol. 13 (1999) 62.
A potentiometric
and spectroscopic study of copper(II) diaminodiamido complexes. G.
E. Jackson, P. W. Linder, A. Voye. J. Chem. Soc. Dalton.
(1996) 4605.
Metal-ion
Speciation in Blood Plasma: Case of Gallium-67 citrate and MRI
contrast Agents G.E. Jackson, M.J. Byrne. J. Nucl. Med.
37(2) (1996) 379-386.
Solution
conformations of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and
[Gln8]GnRH J. C. Maliekal, G. E. Jackson, C. A. Flanagan, R. P.
Millar. S. Afr. J. Chem. 50(4) (1997) 217.
UCT
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