Eric John Toone

Professor Emeritus of Chemistry

Dr. Toone is a physical organic chemist who studies relationships between structure and activity in the context of biology. Currently active programs exist in biocatalysis/applied enzymology, ligand binding and the activity of water, and the synthesis of novel donors of nitric oxide. The study of these problems makes use of synthetic organic chemistry,
traditional enzymology, isothermal titration
microcalorimetry, and the techniques of directed evolution.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
• Faculty Network Member of The Energy Initiative
• Bass Fellow

Contact Information

• Office Location: 3236 French Science Center, Durham, NC 27708
• Office Phone: (919) 660-1506
• Email Address: eric.toone@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Education

• Ph.D. University of Toronto (Canada), 1988
• M.S. University of Toronto (Canada), 1985
• B.S. University of Guelph (Canada), 1983

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Sloan Research Fellowship-Chemistry. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 1995

Courses Taught

• CHEM 493: Research Independent Study
• CHEM 494: Research Independent Study

In the News

• Duke Holds DC Panel Discussion on Universities and Entrepreneurship (Oct 6, 2016)
• Toone Named to US Advisory Council Studying Entrepreneurship and American Innovation (Sep 19, 2016)
• The Role of Higher Ed in Entrepreneurship (Jul 26, 2016 | Tech Crunch)
• Entrepreneurship and the 21st Century University (Jul 22, 2016)
• Q&A: Eric Toone on entrepreneurship, failure, and resliliency (Jun 15, 2016 | Duke Magazine)
• Is a different kind of Silicon Valley possible? (Mar 25, 2016 | The Atlantic)
• Triangle universities look to alumni to invest in startups (Mar 2, 2016 | The News & Observer)
• Triangle Universities Partnering to Attract Innovation Funding (Mar 1, 2016)
• Duke Pioneers Pathway to Philanthropy for Entrepreneurs Through New Program (Nov 2, 2015)
• Duke Board Updated on Academic, Financial Issues at Fall Meeting (Oct 2, 2015)
• Entrepreneurial 'Bullpen' opens in downtown Durham (Sep 1, 2015)
• Duke University, alumni eye investments in startups (Mar 12, 2015 | The News & Observer)
• ‘Duke Angel Network’ To Connect Alumni Investors With Duke-Affiliated Startups (Mar 11, 2015)
• Duke's grand entrepreneurship experiment (and its 16 test subjects) (Sep 25, 2014 | WRAL TechWire)
• Why Duke Is Promoting Entrepreneurship (Sep 12, 2014)
• New Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate (Apr 11, 2014)

Representative Publications

• Zhao, J; Cochrane, CS; Najeeb, J; Gooden, D; Sciandra, C; Fan, P; Lemaitre, N; Newns, K; Nicholas, RA; Guan, Z; Thaden, JT; Fowler, VG; Spasojevic, I; Sebbane, F; Toone, EJ; Duncan, C; Gammans, R; Zhou, P, Preclinical safety and efficacy characterization of an LpxC inhibitor against Gram-negative pathogens., Sci Transl Med, vol 15 no. 708 (2023) [10.1126/scitranslmed.adf5668] [abs].
• Martorana, AM; Moura, ECCM; Sperandeo, P; Di Vincenzo, F; Liang, X; Toone, E; Zhou, P; Polissi, A, Degradation of Components of the Lpt Transenvelope Machinery Reveals LPS-Dependent Lpt Complex Stability in Escherichia coli., Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, vol 8 (2021) [10.3389/fmolb.2021.758228] [abs].
• Lemaître, N; Liang, X; Najeeb, J; Lee, C-J; Titecat, M; Leteurtre, E; Simonet, M; Toone, EJ; Zhou, P; Sebbane, F, Curative Treatment of Severe Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections by a New Class of Antibiotics Targeting LpxC., Mbio, vol 8 no. 4 (2017) [10.1128/mBio.00674-17] [abs].
• Titecat, M; Liang, X; Lee, C-J; Charlet, A; Hocquet, D; Lambert, T; Pagès, J-M; Courcol, R; Sebbane, F; Toone, EJ; Zhou, P; Lemaitre, N, High susceptibility of MDR and XDR Gram-negative pathogens to biphenyl-diacetylene-based difluoromethyl-allo-threonyl-hydroxamate LpxC inhibitors., Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, vol 71 no. 10 (2016), pp. 2874-2882 [10.1093/jac/dkw210] [abs].
• Liang, X; Gopalaswamy, R; Navas, F; Toone, EJ; Zhou, P, A Scalable Synthesis of the Difluoromethyl-allo-threonyl Hydroxamate-Based LpxC Inhibitor LPC-058., J Org Chem, vol 81 no. 10 (2016), pp. 4393-4398 [10.1021/acs.joc.6b00589] [abs].