Eric V. Anslyn
anslyn@austin.utexas.edu
University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Faculty
Norman Hackerman Professorship in Chemistry
Contact Information
Office: NHB: 5.114A
Phone: 471-0068
Lab
Office: NHB: 5.120/5.110
Phone: 471-4781
Education
BS, California State University - Northridge, 1982
PhD, California Institute of Technology, 1987
Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (1994-6)
Awards
Runner-Up, Professor of the Year, UT Student Associates, Jan. 2011
2010 Regent’s Teaching Award Recipient, Across the Univ. Texas System, Aug. 11th
2010
Ramshorn Mark of Excellence, From Dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering,
Oct. 29th 2009
Faculty Service Award, College of Natural Science, 2008
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2006
Cope Scholar (Spring), 2006
Hamilton Textbook Award, University Co-Op, 2006
Graduate Teaching Award, UT Austin, 2003
Election to Academy of Distinguished Teachers, UT Austin, 2000
Affiliations
Beckman Center for the Design and Fabrication of Sensor Arrays; Institute for
Cellular and Molecular Biology; IGERT: Optical Biomedical Engineering;
Environmental Science Institute; Texas Materials Institute
Understanding Molecular Interactions Using Bioorganic and Supramolecular
Chemistry
My research group is interested in the physical and bioorganic chemistry of synthetic
and natural receptors and molecular recognition. Using a combination of synthesis,
combinatorial techniques, NMR, kinetics, computer modeling, and optical signaling,
we design and implement studies oriented at the development of receptors for
numerous real world applications. In specific, we focus upon receptors for diols,
catechols, carbohydrates, enolates, and enantiomeric excess using single and
multi-analyte sensing ensembles.
To this end, our group works on synthetic and designed receptors for the analysis of
complex analytes in real-life settings by mimicking the mammalian senses of taste
and smell. As a means of developing sensors, we are pursuing the formation of
combinatorial libraries of peptidic and non-peptidic structures augmented with
elements of rational chemical design. We have used receptors designed this way to
generate fingerprints that differentiate between the individual members of a targeted
class of molecules. These types of receptors can be used to determine the identify of
mixtures, enantiomeric excess of a reaction, or identify analytes in a mixture.
Finally, we are also pursuing the use of polymers and other large molecules for the
creation of multicomponent assemblies that can be used in multianalyte sensing
applications. Different portions of the assembly impart the differential behavior and
cross-reactivity, as well as bias toward the central recognition element for the target
class of molecules. While our group works in many different areas, each of our
projects relies upon the principles of supramolecular, organic, and biological
chemistry, to unite them together.
Representative Publications
“Rapid Determination of Enantiomeric Excess of alpha-Chiral Cyclohexanones Using
Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy” Leung, D.; Anslyn, E.V. Org. Lett. 2011, 9,
2298-2301.
“Synthesis and Evaluation of Quinoxaline Derivatives as Potential Influenza NS1A
Protein Inhibitors” You, L; Cho, E.J.; Leavitt, J.; Ma, J.C.; Montelione, G.; Anslyn,
E.V.; Krug, R.M.; Ellington, A.; Robertus, J.D. Biooorg. Med. Chem. 2011, 21,
3007-3011.
“Chemical Functionalization of Oligodeoxynucleotides with Multiple Boronic Acids
for the Polyvalent Binding of Saccharides” Hargrove, A.E.; Ellington, A.D.; Anslyn,
E.V.; Sessler, J. Bioconj. Chem. 2011, 22, 388.
“Discimination of Flavonoids and Red Wine Varietals by Arrays of Differential
Peptidic Sensors” Umali, A. LeBoeuf, Sarah E.; Newberry, Robert W.; Kim, Siwon;
Tran, Lee; Rome, Whitney A.; Tian, Tian; Taing, David; Hong, Jane; Kwan, Melissa,
Heymann, Hildegarde; Anslyn, E.V. Chem. Sci. 2011, 2, 439-445.