17
Keynote
2020
Januar y
12-2 3
Supramolecular Latches: New Chemical Tools for Biology
and Medicine
DESCRIPTION
The future of personalized medicine depends on the extent of biological processes we understand today. So far, in trying
to understand such complex processes, the naturally occurring streptavidin-biotin (SA-BT) protein-ligand pair with a high
binding affinity (K ~ 1013 M-1) has been extensively used. Nevertheless, it has intrinsic limitations in a cellular environment,
such as being susceptible to enzymatic degradation, large size (52 kDa), and the presence of endogenous biotin, which
generates false positives. Therefore, a small molecule-based artificial binding pair system with ultra-high binding affinity
and specificity is highly desired for bioapplications such as immobilization and purification of biomolecules, biosensing, and
bioimaging. We have developed a synthetic macrocyclic receptor molecule cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), a member of the cucur-
bit[n]uril family (CB[n], n = 5–8, 10, 14), having the unique ability to form ultrastable complexes with specific guests such
as adamantyl amines (K > 1012 M-1). Such ultrastable host-guest complexes have been further utilized as a new chemical
tool for understanding complex cellular processes such as autophagy, inaccurate, and precise imaging of target proteins in
the isolation of spatiotemporally localized proteins specialized in inter-organelle communications, isolation, and purification
of therapeutic protein drugs and proteomics in general. The advantages of this synthetic receptor system over its natural
analog include (1) high chemical stability in a cellular environment, (2) bio-orthogonality in binding, (3) small size enabling for
efficient cellular uptake, and (4) scalability for cost-effective and convenient uses.
In this talk, Kimoon Kim will present our recent progress towards developing such new chemical tools for biology based on
the ultrastable host-guest complexes, which may be useful in laying the cornerstone of personalized medicine in the future.
SPEAKER Kimoon Kim
Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Self-assembly and
Complexity at Pohang University of Science and Technology
EVENT FORMAT