H-Bonding Control of Molecular Self Assembly

安德鲁·汉密尔顿教授获得了有机和高分子化学项目颁发的这一奖项，他将致力于开发利用氢键作为控制分子自组装手段的策略。这代表了一种方法，在这种方法中，定义的分子形状和相互作用被合成地构建成单独的组件，然后这些组件可以自组装成更复杂的聚集体。最重要的是，集合体应该具有单个组件中没有的属性和特征。在拟议的项目中，他们将把这种方法扩展到自组装，特别是在水溶液中，重点是针对生物分子。他们的主要策略将利用DNA寡核苷酸链中存在的互补性，将有机片段聚集在一起，形成具有生物分子识别特性的聚集体。通过这种方式，他们将能够通过选择寡核苷酸的序列和自组装特性来控制这些聚集体的结构、化学计量比和潜在功能。在这一总体目标中，他们将有三个广泛的具体目标：1-使用处于稳定边缘的寡核苷酸聚集体来检测蛋白质。在正常条件下几乎不形成双链的互补和荧光团功能化的寡核苷酸链将通过附着生理上重要的疏水分子(例如雌酮、睾酮和其他类固醇)来稳定。在靶蛋白(如雌激素受体)存在的情况下，稳定基团将被隔离，双链将解离，并将检测到荧光信号。2-开发在双链DNA上自组装的双齿蛋白结合剂。他们将进一步研究利用DNA双链作为支架形成蛋白质结合剂的动态组合文库。将两个有机片段连接到互补DNA链的3‘和5’端导致这些片段定位在能够靶向蛋白质表面的双链的一端。3-开发在四链DNA上自组装的四齿蛋白质结合剂。他们将把这种方法扩展到具有更大表面积的聚集体，并通过使用DNA四链来靶向蛋白质的外表面。他们将把这些聚集体定位于神经氨酸酶和刀豆蛋白-A等四聚体蛋白质--这项工作代表了化学的一个新方向，不仅使其能够更好地控制大分子结构及其性质，而且还可以应用于水环境以及在生物传感器设计和蛋白质结合剂方面的潜在新应用。学生将在分子设计、合成、生物化学和物理化学性质分析方面获得广泛的经验。国际和平协会已经培训了110多名学生和博士后同事，并始终坚定地致力于多样性的原则和实践。近年来，这已经转化为一个研究小组，平均由大约50%的女性组成，少数族裔学生和博士后的代表不足。在担任耶鲁教务长期间，他支持并发起了许多针对少数族裔理科学生的项目，以及专注于增加耶鲁教师、学生和教职员工多样性的广泛倡议。

With this award from the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program, Prof. Andrew Hamilton will pursue the goal to develop strategies that exploit hydrogen bonding as a means of controlling molecular self-assembly. This represents an approach in which defined molecular shapes and interactions are built synthetically into individual components that then can self-assemble into a more complex aggregate. Most importantly the aggregate should possess properties and characteristics that are not present in the individual components. In the proposed project they will extend this approach to self-assembly particularly in aqueous solution with emphasis on targeting biological molecules. Their principal strategy will use the complementarity present in strands of DNA oligonucleotides as a way of bringing together organic fragments into aggregates that possess the property of biomolecule recognition. In this way they will be able to control the structure, stoichiometry and potential function of these aggregates through the chosen sequence and self-assembling properties of the oligonucleotides. Within this overall goal they will have three broad specific aims:1- To use oligonucleotide aggregates on the cusp of stability to detect proteins.Complementary and fluorophore functionalized oligonucleotide strands that barely form a duplex under normal conditions will be stabilized by attaching physiologically important hydrophobic molecules (e.g. estrone, testosterone and other steroids). In the presence of the target protein (e.g. estrogen receptor) the stabilizing group will be sequestered, the duplex will dissociate and a fluorescent signal will be detected. 2- To develop bidentate protein binding agents self-assembled on duplex DNA.They will further investigate the use of DNA duplex as a scaffold for the formation of dynamic combinatorial libraries of protein binding agents. Attachment of two organic fragments onto the 3'- and 5'-ends of complementary DNA strands leads to the positioning of those fragments at one end of the duplex capable of targeting a protein surface. 3- To develop tetradentate protein binding agents self-assembled on quadruplex DNA.They will extend this approach to aggregates that present larger surface areas and that can target the exterior surface of proteins through the use of DNA quadruplexes. They will target these aggregates to tetrameric proteins such as neuraminidase and concanavolin-A.Broader Impacts - This work represents a new direction in chemistry, taking it not only into greater control of large molecular structures and their properties but also into aqueous environments and potential novel applications in biosensor design and protein binding agents. Students will gain broad experience in molecular design, synthesis, biochemistry and analysis of physicochemical properties. The PI has trained more than 110 student and post-doctoral coworkers and always has been deeply committed to the principles and practices of diversity. In recent years this has translated into a research group that has comprised, on average, around 50% of women and underrepresented minority students and post-docs. In his responsibilities as Provost of Yale, he has supported and initiated many programs for minority science students as well as broad initiatives focused on increasing the diversity of faculty, students and staff at Yale.