faculty

Assistant Professor of Chemistry;
Research Assistant Professor, Life Science Institute

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Postdoc., California Institute of Technology

Bioinorganic Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Biology

Phone: (734) (August, 2008)      
E-mail: mhlim@umich.edu

Our research interests lie in the broad field of inorganic chemistry as it interfaces with biological and medicinal chemistry. One project will be directed toward designing metal chelators as chemotherapeutics for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Two other areas will focus on utilizing metal peptide complexes as catalysts for selective oxidative transformations and as agents for detoxification of hydrogen peroxide. Students in our group will engage in synthetic chemistry (organic and inorganic syntheses), physical methods (NMR, EPR, IR, CD, and UV-vis spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography), as well as biological techniques (mammalian cell culture and analysis).

Metal Chelator-Based Chemotherapeutic Agents for Alzheimer's Disease (AD). A distinct feature of AD is accumulation of toxic amyloid-beta (A beta) aggregates, which is accelerated by the presence of divalent ions such as Cu(II) and Zn(II) . In particular, Cu-A beta may catalytically generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to increased oxidative stress and consequent deterioration of AD conditions. Metal-induced A beta aggregation and ROS formation can be alleviated by metal chelators. Therefore, we will develop a new generation of nontoxic, small molecule-based metal chelators for Cu(II) and Zn(II) as effective therapeutics for AD.

Metallopeptides as Efficient and Selective Oxidation Catalysts. Selective oxidation reactions of organic compounds are of great significance for the synthesis of fine chemicals and industrial production of useful compounds. To achieve efficiency and selectivity, transition metal complexes and metalloenzymes have been employed as catalysts. Their utility and general applicability are still limited, however. We will design metallopeptides as a new class of catalysts for selective oxidative functionalization under mild conditions. Metallopeptide-based catalysts would combine advantages of both metalloenzymes and small-molecule catalysts that are involved in oxidation chemistry.

AWARDS

• 2007, ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry Young Investigator Award
• 2006 - 2008 , Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (TRDRP, CA, USA)
• 2005 - 2006, Graduate Student Fellowship, Martin Family Society (MIT, MA, USA)

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

1. Mi Hee Lim, Irvin H. Lau, Jacqueline K. Barton, Inorg. Chem. 2007, 46, 9528-9530. "DNA Strand Cleavage Near a CC Mismatch Directed by a Metalloinsertor"

2. Mi Hee Lim, Stephen J. Lippard, Acc. Chem. Res. 2007, 40, 41-51. "Metal-Based Turn-On Fluorescent Probes for Sensing Nitric Oxide"

3. Mi Hee Lim, Nat. Protocols 2007, 2, 408-415. "Preparation of a Copper-Based Fluorescent Probe for Nitric Oxide and Its Use in Mammalian Cultured Cells"

4. Mi Hee Lim et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc . 2006, 128, 14364-14373. "Direct Nitric Oxide Detection In Aqueous Solution by Copper(II) Fluorescein Complexes"

5. Mi Hee Lim, Dong Xu, Stephen J. Lippard , Nat. Chem. Bio. 2006, 2, 375-380. "Visualization of Nitric Oxide in Living Cells by a Copper-Based Fluorescent Probe"

6. Mi Hee Lim , Stephen J. Lippard, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 12170-12171. "Copper Complexes for Fluorescence-Based NO Detection in Aqueous Solution"

7. Mi Hee Lim et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2003, 100, 3665-3670. "An Fe^IV =O Complex of a Tetradentate Tripodal Nonheme Ligand"

8. Wonwoo Nam, Mi Hee Lim, Ha Jin Lee, Cheal Kim, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 6641- 6647. "Evidence for the Participation of Two distinct Reactive Intermediates in Iron(III) Porphyrin Complex-Catalyzed Epoxidation Reactions"