Organic Seminar - Richard Hooley

The Organic Seminar Series presents: Richard Hooley

UC Riverside

Host: Jonathan Sessler

Title: Molecular Recognition of Everything*

Location: WEL 2.122

Refreshments served at 3:15pm

The Hooley group works on various aspects of organic, inorganic and supramolecular chemistry, with a focus on the synthesis and applications of biomimetic self-assembled cages and hosts, and their functions in supramolecular catalysis, molecular recognition and biosensing. Specifically, we use water-soluble macrocyclic receptors in the recognition, sensing and discrimination of a wide-ranging scope of biological and environmentally important targets. By using multiple hosts and fluorescent guests in an arrayed manner, a variety of biomolecules can be selectively detected and discriminated via simple optical methods. Targets include post-translationally modified peptides¹ (with modifications as varied as lysine methylations, serine phosphorylation and peptide epimers), enzyme activity² (including methyltransferases, demethylases, kinase and phosphatases), as well as anions that vary in size from iodide to PFAS³ to non-canonically folded DNA structures.⁴ Using pattern recognition techniques allows excellent selectivity, but the key to broad-ranging target scope is to employ multiple orthogonal recognition mechanisms. By varying the recognition mechanism, large target scope and strong selectivity are not inversely correlated: simple host:guest complexes can be a powerful, tunable sensing platform that can be applied to detect multiple different biorelevant species. The synergistic application of multiple variables in a single arrayed sensor system allows these receptors to approach levels of recognition selectivity usually only seen with antibodies.
 

References

1. Zhong, W.; Hooley, R.J. Acc. Chem. Res. 2022, 55, 1035–1046.
2. Chen, J.; Fasihianifard, P.; Lian, R.; Gibson-Elias, L. J.; Moreno, Jr., J. L.; Chang, C. A.; Zhong, W.*; Hooley, R.J.* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 841–850. 
3. Lian, R.; Yang, Y.-D.; Moreno, Jr., J. L.; Eggimann, B. L.; Chen, J.; Gibson-Elias, L. J.; Williams, C. G.; Jiang, P.; Lee, A. J.; Mueller, L. J.; Sessler, J. L.*; Siepmann, J. I.*; Johnson, D. W.*; Hooley, R. J.* J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 22768–22777.
4. Chen, J.; Hickey, B.L.; Wang, L.; Lee, J.; Gill, A.D.; Favero, A.; Pinalli, R.; Dalcanale, E.; Hooley, R.J.*; Zhong, W.* Nat. Chem. 2021, 13,488–495.