Profile
Daniel Whitehead
Chemistry
Associate Department Chair
Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Hunter Hall 446 [Lab]
Hunter Hall 451 [Lab]
Hunter Hall 453 [Lab]
Hunter Hall 467 [Office]
Jordan Hall 220 [Lab]
Educational Background
B.S., Chemistry, Furman University, 2002
M.S., Chemistry, Furman University, 2003
Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, Michigan State University, 2009
Postdoc, Bio-Organic Chemistry, North Carolina State University, 2009-2011
Profile/About Me
Prof. Dan Whitehead was educated at Furman University and Michigan State University, and has been a faculty member of the Clemson Chemistry department since 2011. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2018. Dr. Whitehead’s bio-organic chemistry lab leverages collaborations across campus, the country, and the globe to tackle difficult problems spanning the development of new organic chemistry reactions, the discovery of new drugs for chronic diseases driven parasites and bacteria, and functional nanomaterials for environmental and biomedical applications.
Research Interests
Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Bio-Organic Chemistry, Materials
Selected Publications
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gI85TPgAAAAJ&hl=en
42. Attia, M. F.; Montaser, A. S.; Arifuzzaman, M.; Pitz, M.; Jlassi, K.; Alexander-Bryant, A.; Kelly, S. S.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “In Situ Photopolymerization of Acrylamide Hydrogel to Coat Cellulose Acetate Nanofibers for Drug Delivery System” Polymers, 2021, 13, 1863
41. Brummel, B. R.; Lee, K. G.; Kolis, J. W.; Whitehead, D. C.; McMillen, C. D. “Guanidinium Sulfates as Directors of Nocentrosymmetric Structures” CrystEngComm, 2021, 23, 1643-1656.
40. Aimacana, C. M. C.; Perez, D. A. Q.; Pinto, S. R.; Attia, M. F.; Santos-Oliveira, R.; Whitehead, D. C.; Terencio, T.; Alexis, F.; Dahoumane, S. A. “Polytetrafluoroethylene-like nanoparticles as a promising contrast agent for dual modal ultrasound and X-ray bioimaging” ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 2021, 7, 1181–1191.
39. Romero, M. P.; Spencer, L.; Vispo, N. S.; Vizuete, K.; Debut, A.; Whitehead, D. C.; Santos-Oliveira, R.; Alexis, F. “Natural Cellulose Fibers for Surgical Suture Applications” Polymers, 2020, 12, 3042.
38. Attia, M. F.*; Akasov, R.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “Polymer-Scaffolded Synthesis of Periodic Mesoporous Organosilica Nanomaterials for Delivery Systems in Cancer Cells” ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 2020, 6, 6671-6679.
37. Swasy, M. I.; Brummel, B. R.; Narangoda, C.; Attia, M. F.; Hawk, J. M.; Alexis, F., Whitehead, D. C. “Degradation of Pesticides Using Amine-Functionalized Cellulose Nanocrystals” RSC Advances, 2020, 10, 44312-44322.
36. Attia, M. F.; Swasy, M. I.; Akasov, R.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “Strategies for High Grafting Efficiency of Functional Ligands to Lipid Nanoemulsions for RGD-Mediated Targeting of Tumor Cells In Vitro” ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2020, 3, 5067-5079.
35. Viera, C.; Santamaria-Aguirre, J.; Vizuete, K.; Debut, A.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. “Cellulose extracted from native plants as an excipient for solid dosage formulations in drug delivery” Nanomaterials, 2020, 10, 975.
34. Policicchio, A.; Florent, M.; Attia, M. F.; Whitehead, D. C.; Jagiello, J.; Bandosz, T. J. “Effect of the incorporation of functionalized cellulose nanocrystals into UiO-66 on composite porosity and surface heterogeneity alterations” Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2020, 7, 1902098.
33. Attia, M. F.; Ranasinghe, M.; Akasov, R.; Anker, J. N.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. In Situ Preparation of Gold-Polyester Nanoparticles for Biomedical Imaging” Biomaterials Sciences, 2020, 8, 3032-3043. (Cover)
32. Bergmann, A.; Floyd, K.; Key, M.; Damron, C. Rees, K. C.; Thorton, L. B.; Whitehead, D. C., Dou, Z. “Toxoplasma gondii requires its plant-like heme biosynthesis pathway for infection” PLOS Pathogens, 2020, 16, e1008499.
31. Bravo, I.; Figueroa, F.; Swasy, M. I.; Attia, M. F.; Ateia, M.; Encalada, D.; Vizuete, K.; Galeas, S.; Guerrero, V. H.; Debut, A.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. “Cellulose particles capture aldehyde VOC pollutants” RSC Advances, 2020, 10, 7967–7975.
30. Lex, T. R.; Swasy, M. I.; Panda, S.; Brummel, B. R.; Giambalvo, L. N.; Gross, K. G.; McMillen, C. D.; Kobra, K.; Pennington, W. T.; Whitehead, D. C. “Design and Synthesis of Fmoc-SPPS-Ready Iodoarene Amino Acid Pre-Catalysts and Their Reactivity in the Catalytic Oxytosylation of Ketones” Tetrahedron Letters, 2020, 61, 151723.
29. Lex, T. R.; Brummel, B. R.; Attia, M. F.; Giambalvo, L. N.; Lee, K. G.; Van Horn, B. A.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. “Iodinated Polyesters with Enhanced X-ray Contrast Properties for Biomedial Imaging” Scientific Reports, 2020, 10, 1508.
28. Attia, M. F.; Swasy, M. I.; Ateia, M.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “Periodic mesoporous organosilica nanomaterials for rapid capture of VOCs” Chemical Communications 2020, 56, 607–610.
27. Attia, M. F.; Swasy, M. I; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “Controllable Design of Naked and Poly(Amine)-Capped Porous and Nonporous Microparticles of Sustainable Polymers That Exhibit Dual Modalities for Volatile Organic Compound Adsorption” ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 2019, 1, 3459–3469.
26. Brummel, B. R.; Lee, K. G.; McMillen, C. D.; Kolis, J. W.; Whitehead, D. C. “One-Pot Absolute Stereochemical Identification of Alcohols via Guanidinium Sulfate Crystallization” Organic Letters, 2019, 23, 9622–9627.
25. Santilli, A. D.; Russell, J. T.; Triplett, E. W.; Whitehead, K. J.; Whitehead, D. C. “Non-lethal growth inhibition by arresting the starch utilization system of clinically relevant human isolates of Bacteroides dorei” Med. Chem. Commun. 2019, 10, 1875–1880. (Cover)
24. Narangoda, C. J.; Kakeshpour, T.; Lex, T. R.; Redden, B. K.; Moore, M. A.; Frank E. M.; McMillen, C. D.; Wiskur, S. L.; Kitaygorodskiy, A.; Jackson, J. E.; Whitehead, D.C. “Cycloaddition/Electrocyclic Ring Opening Sequence betweeen Alkynyl Sulfides and Azodicarboxylates To Provide N,N-dicarbamoyl 2-iminothioimidates” Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2019, 84, 9734-9743.
23. Narangoda, C. J.; Lex, T. R.; Moore, M. A.†; McMillen, C. D.; Kitaygorodskiy, A.; Jackson, J. E.; Whitehead, D. C. “Accessing the rare diazacyclobutene motif” Organic Letters, 2018, 20, 8009-8013.
22. Ateia, M.; Attia, M. F.; Maroli, A.; Tharayil, N.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C.; Karanfil, T. “Rapid Removal of Poly- and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances by Polyethylenimine-functionalized Cellulose Microcrystals at Environmentally Relevant Conditions” Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 2018, 5, 764-769.
21. Attia, M. F.; Brummel, B. R.; Lex, T. R.; Van Horn, B. A.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. “Recent Advances in Polyesters for Biomedical Imaging” Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2018, 1800798. (Invited Review)
20. Swasy, M. I.; Campbell, M. L.; Brummel, B. R.; Guerra, F. D.; Attia, M. F.; Smith, Jr., G. D.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “Poly(amine) modified kaolinite clay for VOC capture” Chemosphere, 2018, 213, 19-24.
19. Guerra, F. D.; Campbell, M. L.; Attia, M. F.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. “Capture of aldehyde VOCs using a series of amine-functionalized cellulose nanocrystals” ChemistrySelect, 2018, 3, 5485-5501. (Cover)
18. Santilli, A. D.; Dawson, E. M.†; Whitehead, K. J.; Whitehead, D. C. “Non-lethal small molecule inhbition of polysaccharide metabolism in human gut microbes: a potential therapeutic avenue” ACS Chemical Biology, 2018, 13, 1165-1172.
17. Guerra, F. D.; Attia, M. F.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. “Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation: Materials and Applications” Molecules, 2018, E1760. (Review article)
16. Guerra, F. D.; Campbell, M. L.; Whitehead, D. C.; Alexis, F. “Tunable Properties of Functional Nanoparticles for Efficient Capture of VOCs” ChemistrySelect, 2017, 2, 9889-9894. (Cover)
15. Gordhan, H. M.; Milanes, J. E.; Qiu, Y.; Golden, J. E.; Christensen, K. A.; Morris, J. C.; Whitehead, D. C. “A targeted delivery strategy for the development of potent trypanocides” Chemical Communications, 2017, 53, 8735-8738.
14. Campbell, M. L.; Sulejmanovic, D.; Schiller, J. B.; Turner, E. M. ; Hwu, S.-J.; Whitehead, D. C. “Alcohol oxidations using reduced polyoxovanadates” Helvetica Chimia Acta, 2017, 100, e1600338.
13. Gordhan, H. M.; Patrick, S. L.; Swasy, M. I.; Hackler, A. L.; Anayee, M.; Golden, J. E.; Christensen, K. A.; Morris, J. C.; Whitehead, D. C. “Evaluation of substituted ebselen and ebselen-peptide conjugates as potential tyrpanocidal agents” Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 2017, 27, 537-541.
12. Guerra, F. D.; Smith Jr, G. D.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “A survey of VOC emissions from rendering plants” Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 2017, 17, 209-217.
11. Van Horn, B. A.; Davis, L. L.; Nicolau, S. E.; Burry, E. E.; Bailey, V. O.; Guerra, F. D.; Alexis, F.; Whitehead, D. C. “Synthesis and Conjugation of a Triiodohydroxylamine for the Preparation of Highly X-ray Opaque Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) Materials” Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 2017, 55, 787-793.
10. Campbell, M. L.; Sulejmanovic, D.; Schiller, J. B.; Turner, E. M.; Hwu, S.-J.; Whitehead, D. C. “Room-Temperature Catalytic Oxidation of Alcohols with the Polyoxovanadate Salt Cs5(V14As8O42Cl)” Catalysis Science & Technology 2016, 6, 3208-3213.
9. Hercules, D. A.; Parrish, C. A.; Whitehead, D. C. “Evaluating a college-prep laboratory exercise for teen-aged homeschool students in a university setting” Journal of Chemical Education 2016, 93, 870-873.
8. Lex, T. R.; Swasy, M. I.; Whitehead, D. C. “Relative Rate Profiles of Functionalized Iodoarene Catalysts for Iodine(III) Oxidations” Journal of Organic Chemistry 2015, 80, 12234-12243.
7. Campbell, M.L.; Guerra, F. D., Alexis, F., Whitehead, D. C. “Target-Specific Capture of Environmentally Relevant Gaseous Molecules with Functional Nanoparticles”, Chemistry – A European Journal, 2015, 21, 14834-14842.
6. Nicolau, S. E.; Davis, L. L.; Duncan, C. C.; Olsen, T. R.; Alexis, F. Whitehead, D. C.; Van Horn, B. A. “An Oxime Graft Strategy for Iodinated Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) Xray Opaque Materials”, Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 2015, 53, 2421-2430.
5. Campbell, M. L.; Rackley, S. A.; Giambalvo, L. N.; Whitehead, D. C. “Vanadium (V) oxide mediated bromolactonization of alkenoic acids” Tetrahedron, 2015, 71, 3895-3902.
4. Olsen, T. R.; Davis, L. L.; Nicolau, S. E.; Duncan, C. C.; Whitehead, D. C., Van Horn, B. A.; Alexis, F. "Non-Invasive Deep Tissue Imaging of Polyesters Using XRay" Acta Biomaterialia, 2015, 20, 94-103.
3. Campbell, M. L.; Rackley, S. A.; Giambalvo, L. N., Whitehead, D. C. "Bromolactonization of Alkenoic Acids Mediated by V2O5 via Bromide to Bromenium in situ Oxidation" Tetrahedron Letters 2014, 55, 5680.
2. Joice, A. C.; Harris, M. T.; Kahney, E. W.; Dodson, H. C.; Maselli, A. G.; Whitehead, D. C.; Morris, J. C. “Exploring the mode of action of ebselen in Trypanosoma brucei hexokinase inhibition” International Journal for Parasitology: Drug and Drug Resistance, 2013, 3, 154-160.
1. Drew, E. T.; Yang, Y.; Russo, J. A.; Campbell, M. L.; Rackley, S. A.; Hudson, J.; Schmuki, P.; Whitehead, D. C. “Evaluation of nanostructured vanadium(V) oxide in catalytic oxidations” Catalysis Science & Technology, 2013, 3, 2610-2613.
Honors and Awards
2019 Dr. Fred D. Bisplinghoff Research Innovation Award – Fats & Proteins Research Foundation, Inc
