Christopher T. Seto

Bio: Christopher T. Seto is an academic researcher from Brown University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Enantioselective synthesis & Protein tyrosine phosphatase. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 80 publications receiving 9457 citations. Previous affiliations of Christopher T. Seto include Harvard University.

Molecular self-assembly and nanochemistry: a chemical strategy for the synthesis of nanostructures.

Abstract: Molecular self-assembly is the spontaneous association of molecules under equilibrium conditions into stable, structurally well-defined aggregates joined by noncovalent bonds. Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in biological systems and underlies the formation of a wide variety of complex biological structures. Understanding self-assembly and the associated noncovalent interactions that connect complementary interacting molecular surfaces in biological aggregates is a central concern in structural biochemistry. Self-assembly is also emerging as a new strategy in chemical synthesis, with the potential of generating nonbiological structures with dimensions of 1 to 10(2) nanometers (with molecular weights of 10(4) to 10(10) daltons). Structures in the upper part of this range of sizes are presently inaccessible through chemical synthesis, and the ability to prepare them would open a route to structures comparable in size (and perhaps complementary in function) to those that can be prepared by microlithography and other techniques of microfabrication.

Molecular self-assembly and nanochemistry: A chemical strategy for the synthesis of nanostructures

Abstract: Molecular self-assembly is the spontaneous association of molecules under equilibrium conditions into stable, structurally well-defined aggregates joined by noncovalent bonds. Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in biological systems and underlies the formation of a wide variety of complex biological structures. Understanding self-assembly and the associated noncovalent interactions that connect complementary interacting molecular surfaces in biological aggregates is a central concern in structural biochemistry. Self-assembly is also emerging as a new strategy in chemical synthesis, with the potential of generating nonbiological structures with dimensions of 1 to 10(2) nanometers (with molecular weights of 10(4) to 10(10) daltons). Structures in the upper part of this range of sizes are presently inaccessible through chemical synthesis, and the ability to prepare them would open a route to structures comparable in size (and perhaps complementary in function) to those that can be prepared by microlithography and other techniques of microfabrication.

Noncovalent Synthesis: Using Physical-Organic Chemistry To Make Aggregates

Abstract: A molecule is usually understood to be a stable collection of atoms connected bv a continuous network of covalent bonds. The develipment of methods for constructing these networks has been a central occupation of organic chemistry, and the success of these methods has made possible the power, elegance, and utility of modern organic synthesis. The preparations of vitamin B12,l palytoxin,2 calicheamicin,3 and other complex secondary metabolites illustrate the extraordinary sophistication of this field. This type of synthesis-which we refer to as covalent synthesis, in the absence of a better termcontinues to expand its capabilities, but it may be understandably difficult to provide very large and structurally complex molecules quickly and economically by using it.4 Organic chemistry has always taken much of its inspiration and motivation from Nature. As biological molecules-especially large molecules having complex tertiary structures such as proteins, DNA, and RNA-have become central concerns of organic chemistry, noncovalent interactions have moved toward the center of attention. Although biological macromolecules are largely composed of Covalent bonds, the networks of these bonds are not always continuous, and many important structures-including multimeric proteins and DNA itself-are "aggregates" and not simply "molecules". Many biological molecules and aggregates derive much of their unique structure and function from noncovalent interactions: that is, from

Molecular self-assembly through hydrogen bonding : supramolecular aggregates based on the cyanuric acid.melamine lattice

Abstract: Reaction of the tris(melamine) derivatives hubMr (CnHr- 1,3,5-(CONHC6H4- 3-N(9ryrCnHo-4-C (CHr)r)COC6- H,-2-NHC.,Nr(NHr )(NHCHTCHTC(CHr) r)-5-Brl.) and flexM. (CoHr-1,3,5 (CO:(CHr),OCOC6H I-2-NHCTN)(NH2)( N- HCHTCHT(CU,lrltJ with R,CA (neohexyl isocyanuiate) and R"CA (3,3,3-triphenylpropyt isocy-anurate) in CHClr, respectively, yields ,truiturali.r- well-defined supramoleculir aggregates hubMq(R'CA)3 and flexM3(R"CA)3. These structures were characterized using ,H NMR, rlC NMR, and UV spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and vapor pressure osmometry. flexM, is a confor-mationally flexible analog of hubM.,. The greater degree of preorganization that is built into the molecular structure of hubM3 compaied to flexM., ttiuk.r hubMr(R'Cn)i a more stable aggregate than flexMr(R"CA)r. These self- assembling structuies arethe first step in a program to design, synthesize. and develop methods to characterize supramolecular

Folding DNA to create nanoscale shapes and patterns

Abstract: 'Bottom-up fabrication', which exploits the intrinsic properties of atoms and molecules to direct their self-organization, is widely used to make relatively simple nanostructures. A key goal for this approach is to create nanostructures of high complexity, matching that routinely achieved by 'top-down' methods. The self-assembly of DNA molecules provides an attractive route towards this goal. Here I describe a simple method for folding long, single-stranded DNA molecules into arbitrary two-dimensional shapes. The design for a desired shape is made by raster-filling the shape with a 7-kilobase single-stranded scaffold and by choosing over 200 short oligonucleotide 'staple strands' to hold the scaffold in place. Once synthesized and mixed, the staple and scaffold strands self-assemble in a single step. The resulting DNA structures are roughly 100 nm in diameter and approximate desired shapes such as squares, disks and five-pointed stars with a spatial resolution of 6 nm. Because each oligonucleotide can serve as a 6-nm pixel, the structures can be programmed to bear complex patterns such as words and images on their surfaces. Finally, individual DNA structures can be programmed to form larger assemblies, including extended periodic lattices and a hexamer of triangles (which constitutes a 30-megadalton molecular complex).

Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-C3N4)-Based Photocatalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis and Environmental Remediation: Are We a Step Closer To Achieving Sustainability?

Abstract: As a fascinating conjugated polymer, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has become a new research hotspot and drawn broad interdisciplinary attention as a metal-free and visible-light-responsive photocatalyst in the arena of solar energy conversion and environmental remediation. This is due to its appealing electronic band structure, high physicochemical stability, and “earth-abundant” nature. This critical review summarizes a panorama of the latest progress related to the design and construction of pristine g-C3N4 and g-C3N4-based nanocomposites, including (1) nanoarchitecture design of bare g-C3N4, such as hard and soft templating approaches, supramolecular preorganization assembly, exfoliation, and template-free synthesis routes, (2) functionalization of g-C3N4 at an atomic level (elemental doping) and molecular level (copolymerization), and (3) modification of g-C3N4 with well-matched energy levels of another semiconductor or a metal as a cocatalyst to form heterojunction nanostructures. The constructi...

Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition.

Abstract: The Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of organic azides and alkynes has gained considerable attention in recent years due to the introduction in 2001 of Cu(1) catalysis by Tornoe and Meldal, leading to a major improvement in both rate and regioselectivity of the reaction, as realized independently by the Meldal and the Sharpless laboratories. The great success of the Cu(1) catalyzed reaction is rooted in the fact that it is a virtually quantitative, very robust, insensitive, general, and orthogonal ligation reaction, suitable for even biomolecular ligation and in vivo tagging or as a polymerization reaction for synthesis of long linear polymers. The triazole formed is essentially chemically inert to reactive conditions, e.g. oxidation, reduction, and hydrolysis, and has an intermediate polarity with a dipolar moment of ∼5 D. The basis for the unique properties and rate enhancement for triazole formation under Cu(1) catalysis should be found in the high ∆G of the reaction in combination with the low character of polarity of the dipole of the noncatalyzed thermal reaction, which leads to a considerable activation barrier. In order to understand the reaction in detail, it therefore seems important to spend a moment to consider the structural and mechanistic aspects of the catalysis. The reaction is quite insensitive to reaction conditions as long as Cu(1) is present and may be performed in an aqueous or organic environment both in solution and on solid support.