The Schreiner University fall Harry Crate Lecture is scheduled for Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Floyd & Kathleen Cailloux Campus Activity Center on the University campus. Dr. Edward Tiekink, associate dean of graduate studies in chemistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio, will speak on “Bismuth Thiolates: Pharmaceutical Use and Development.” According to Dr. Tiekink, bismuth compounds are useful in therapeutic situations; however, “metallic bismuth is not absorbed in humans. When chemists combine bismuth with organic molecules, bismuth can be solubilised and absorbed in patients. This is a useful way of delivering bismuth to patients. Walk down the ‘medicine’ aisle in your local store and you'll see Pepto-Bismol, a bismuth formulation for the treatment of stomach complaints.
“In this presentation, we will see that other bismuth compounds can exhibit a range of pharmaceutical potential, from anti-tumor agents to anti-virals. I will discuss the rationale, chemistry and biological evaluation of new bismuth compounds and their potential pharmacological uses.” The Crate lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Bob Holloway, associate professor of chemistry at Schreiner, (830) 792-7250 or bholloway@schreiner.edu.