Comins awarded 40th U.S. patent

Daniel L. Comins, professor of chemistry at North Carolina State University, has been awarded his 40th United States patent. Comins and his former Ph.D. student, Emilie Smith, were awarded U.S. patent number 7,888,512, titled “Synthesis of Nicotine Derivatives from Nicotine.”

This work came from Comins’ laboratories as part of a program designed to synthesize nicotine derivatives as potential pharmaceuticals that may be useful in the treatment of multiple human disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, migraines, depression, pain and others.

Related studies in Comins’ labs are directed at converting commercially available (S)-nicotine to useful compounds, such as various pharmaceuticals, insecticides, synthetic intermediates, and ligands for asymmetric synthesis.

Comins has over 220 publications in various areas of organic chemistry and natural product synthesis. For more information on Daniel Comins, visit his faculty website.