The word amphoteros (the name of this blog) comes from Greek and means “both worlds”. We use this term to describe molecules that have two opposing properties. You might think such molecules should be unstable, but we know how to force them to “behave”. Here is one we developed with Ryan Hili (now at the University of Georgia):

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja065898s

Ever since this 2006 paper, my lab has been busy exploring the strange world of amphoteric molecules… One of the things you will read in my blogs is how we go about developing this chemistry. You will also learn about the students who have put their hard work into this area.