Chemistry Weekly Seminar - Dr. Fraser Hof
Professor Fraser Hof, University of Victoria, Dept. of Chemistry will present a seminar in THORV 124 at 1:30PM
Title: Assembly, disassembly, sensing, and systems chemistry in competitive biological fluids
Abstract:
We have identified a calixarene-based motif that self-assembles in water and in real biological fluids. We have found that high co-solute tolerance is a general feature of the motif that arises from the relative distribution of anionic and hydrophobic structural elements within the calixarene monomers. We will describe fluorescent analogs that we call DimerDyes—they provide turn-on emission in the presence of certain targeted analytes. We will describe their application in enzyme assays, as well as the use of parallel synthesis and screening to develop new analogs that address distinct challenges in bio-analytical chemistry. We will also describe four-component assemblies that remain stable even in solutions containing extremely high levels of denaturants—up to 1 M salt and 5 M urea.