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Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station A5300
Austin, TX 78712-0165
Contact Information
Office: WEL: 5.201
Phone: 471-0068
Lab
Office: WEL 5.146
Phone: 471-1669
Fax: 471-7791
Eric V. Anslyn
anslyn@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Faculty
Norman Hackerman Professorship in Chemistry
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Research GroupThe Anslyn Group |
EducationBS, California State University - Northridge, 1982 PhD, California Institute of Technology, 1987 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (1994-6) |
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AwardsGraduate Teaching Award, UT Austin, 2003 Election to Academy of Distinguished Teachers, UT Austin, 2000 Jean Holloway Award for Excellence in Teaching, 1999 Outstanding Faculty Award, UT Continuing Education, 1999 Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, 1996 College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award, 1995 |
Affiliations
Environmental Science Institute; IGERT: Optical Biomedical Engineering; Beckman Center for the Design and Fabrication of Sensor Arrays; Texas Materials Institute; Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology;
Physical organic and bioorganic chemistry
My research group is interested in the physical and bioorganic chemistry of synthetic and natural receptors and catalysts. Using a combination of synthesis, NMR, slow and fast kinetics, and computer modeling, we design and implement studies oriented at the development of compounds which perform certain functions and tasks. In specific, we focus upon catalysts of phosphoryl and glycosyl transfers, receptors for carbohydrates and enolates, and single and multi-analyte sensors. In addition, we seek to form polymeric molecules that exhibit unique abiotic secondary structure and are useful in novel combinatorial library applications.
In the arena of phosphoryl transfer, the work involves investigation of the cooperativity of guanidiniums, metals and general bases. These functional groups are common elements of natural phosphatases. We make simple synthetic analogs of the natural systems. For example, bis-guanidinium structures have been found to bind and enhance the imidazole catalyzed hydrolysis of RNA. We are currently incorporating general bases and electrophilic metals as a means of producing a multifunctional RNA cleaving artificial enzyme.
Finally, as a means of developing sensors, we are pursuing the formation of combinatorial libraries of non-peptidic structures and polyguanidiniums. The goal is the formation of libraries of these novel polymers, from which useful receptors can be isolated by various screening methods. This is a new area of research for our group, but in a similar manner to our other projects, it nicely combines synthetic and molecular biology approaches to achieving practical results.
Representative Publications
Zhu, Lei; Shabbir, Shagufta H.; Gray, Mark; Lynch, Vincent M.; Sorey, Steven; Anslyn, Eric V "A Structural Investigation of the N-B Interaction in an o-(N,N-Dialkylaminomethyl)arylboronate System" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128 (2006): 1222-1232.
Aaron Wright, M. Griffin, Z. Zhong, S.McCleskey, E.V. Anslyn, J.T. McDevitt "Differential Receptors Create Patterns That Distinguish Various Proteins" Angew. Chem. 117 (2005): 6533-6536.
Folmer-Andersen, J. Frantz ; Lynch, Vincent M. ; Anslyn, Eric V. "Colorimetric Enantiodiscrimination of .alpha.-Amino Acids in Protic Media" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127 (2005): 7987-7988.
Zhu, Lei; Zhong, Zhenlin; Anslyn, Eric V. "Guidelines in implementing enantioselective indicator-displacement assays for .alpha.-hydroxycarboxylates and diols" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127 (2005): 4260.
Zhu, Lei; Anslyn, Eric V "Signal amplification by allosteric catalysis" Angew. Chem., Int. Ed 45 (2006): 1190-1196.