Department Seminar

Upcoming Seminar

Molecular Capture From Complex Environments
Prof. Brenda Andrade Rounds, CSU Los Angeles

October 21, 2026
4:00pm-5:00pm in HSCI-103

Abstract

Cyclodextrins, macrocyclic sugar rings, are versatile molecular containers used in a wide array of pharmaceutical and commercial applications. We are interested in harnessing cyclodextrins' ability to encapsulate small molecules (200-1000Da) to develop agents that can capture and eliminate toxicants, organic pollutants, and drugs from complex environments. One class of toxicants we’re targeting is nonopioid illicit drugs. Since 1990, there have been three waves of increase in opioid-related deaths, but the third and most dramatic rise began in 2013 and has tapered off since; however, nearly 47% of overdose deaths now involve both opioids and other stimulants. Our initial approaches have focused on studying the binding of xylazine with existing cyclodextrin derivatives to establish a structure-function relationship to inform the rational design of tailored cyclodextrin derivatives to engineer a selective and potent sequestering agent to reverse the effects of these nonopioid drugs.

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Brenda Andrade Rounds is an Assistant Professor at California State University Los Angeles in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She received his B.S. and M.S. from Cal State LA in 2010 and 2013 respectively. In 2019, she earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of Prof. Steven C. Zimmerman. Following an Institutional Research and Academic Career Awards (IRACDA) Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC San Diego’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy with Prof. Michael Gilson, she began her independent academic career at Cal State LA in 2022. Her research combines physical organic studies and synthesis of cyclodextrin derivatives to develop agents that can capture toxicants, organic pollutants, and drugs from complex environments.