About the Seminar

Ethylene is an important plant hormone that is involved in a variety of developmental processes including agriculturally important ripening of certain fruits. Owing to its significant roles, a number of approaches have previously been developed to detect ethylene via molecular interactions. However, there are no current approaches for detection that are selective via a discrete homogeneous molecular interaction. Our group has developed profluorescent chemodosimeters for the selective detection of the plant hormone ethylene. The approach consists of a BODIPY fluorophore with a pendant ruthenium recognition element based on a Hoveyda-Grubbs 2nd generation catalysts. A marked increase in fluorescence is observed upon exposure to ethylene and selectivity is observed for ethylene over other alkenes, providing a unique approach towards ethylene detection. We can image ethylene in live cells from multiple relevant sources.

About the Speaker

Brian Michel received his B.S. in Chemistry from Western Washington University in 2006. Brian was then drawn to the snow and research at the University of Utah, where he completed his Ph.D. with Prof. Matthew Sigman. In the Sigman Lab, Brian developed a highly selective variant of the Wacker oxidation. During this time he gained an appreciation for using mechanistic insight to develop and optimize reactions. In 2011, Brian moved west to work with Prof. Chris Chang at the University of California, Berkeley, where he designed small molecule fluorescent probes for the detection of carbon monoxide in live cells and developed a passion for detecting biologically relevant analytes based on biocompatible reactivity. Brian joined the faculty at the University of Denver Fall 2014. His group is interested in using the reactivity of transition metals to develop new synthetic methods and design probes for the detection of biologically relevant small molecules.