Ellen Sletten

Last updated
Ellen M. Sletten
Alma mater Stonehill College
University of California, Berkeley
Known for Bioorthogonal Chemistry
Scientific career
Institutions University of California, Los Angeles
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thesis Bioorthogonal Chemistries for Labeling Living Systems  (2011)
Doctoral advisor Carolyn R. Bertozzi
Website Sletten Group

Ellen Sletten is an American chemist who is the John McTague Career Development Chair at University of California, Los Angeles. Her research considers the use of physical organic chemistry for diagnostics and medical therapies.

Contents

Early life and education

Sletten was born in New Hampshire. [1] She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry at Stonehill College, a liberal arts school in Easton, Massachusetts. [2] Her undergraduate dissertation considered the stereospecific synthesis of pyrrolizidines that could be used as glycosidase inhibitors. [3] She moved to the West Coast of the United States for her graduate studies, joining the laboratory of Carolyn R. Bertozzi at the University of California, Berkeley to work on bioorthogonal chemistry. [2] In particular, Sletten made use of bioorthogonal chemistry for the labelling of living systems, and the synthesis of cyclooctyne reagents in copper-free click chemistry [2] After graduating, Sletten joined the laboratory of Timothy M. Swager at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [2] At MIT, Sletten worked on fluorescence-based sensors and novel approaches to complex emulsions. [4] [5]

Research and career

In 2015 Sletten was appointed to the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her research considers the use of physical organic chemistry for diagnostics and medical therapies. [2] In 2017 she realised non-toxic fluorescent compounds that emit in the short-wave infrared region (1000 – 2000 nm), making them appropriate for rapid, in vivo optical diagnostics. [6] At the time, short-wave infrared imaging was widely used in astronomy, but Sletten led its expansion into clinical applications. [7] Short-wave infrared light doesn't scatter much in human tissue, and results in low tissue fluorescence compared to the near-infrared light. [8] By combining the short-wave infrared (flavylium heterocycle-based) fluorophore with lasers and an appropriate camera, Sletten showed it was possible to capture multi-colour images of the veins and arteries of moving mice. As the imaging system could provide real-time feedback, it could be used for image-guided surgery. [7] She has explored the use of nanomaterials containing fluorine for personalised medicine.[ citation needed ]

Selected publications

Awards and honours

Related Research Articles

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In chemical synthesis, click chemistry is a class of simple, atom-economy reactions commonly used for joining two molecular entities of choice. Click chemistry is not a single specific reaction, but describes a way of generating products that follow examples in nature, which also generates substances by joining small modular units. In many applications, click reactions join a biomolecule and a reporter molecule. Click chemistry is not limited to biological conditions: the concept of a "click" reaction has been used in chemoproteomic, pharmacological, biomimetic and molecular machinery applications. However, they have been made notably useful in the detection, localization and qualification of biomolecules.

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Copper-free click chemistry is a bioorthogonal reaction as a variant of an azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition. By eliminating cytotoxic copper catalysts, the reaction proceeds without live-cell toxicity. It was developed as a faster alternative to the Staudinger ligation with the first generation of Cu-free click chemistry, producing rate constants over 63 times faster.

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References

  1. ↑ Sletten, Ellen M.; Bertozzi, Carolyn R. (2009). "Bioorthogonal Chemistry: Fishing for Selectivity in a Sea of Functionality". Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 48 (38): 6974–6998. doi:10.1002/anie.200900942. ISSN   1433-7851. PMC   2864149 . PMID   19714693.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sletten, Ellen M. | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  3. ↑ "Ellen Sletten – slettengroup.chem.ucla.edu" . Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  4. 1 2 "NIH Director's New Innovator Award | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  5. ↑ "A simple way to make and reconfigure complex emulsions". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  6. ↑ Cosco, Emily D.; Caram, Justin R.; Bruns, Oliver T.; Franke, Daniel; Day, Rachael A.; Farr, Erik P.; Bawendi, Moungi G.; Sletten, Ellen M. (2017). "Flavylium Polymethine Fluorophores for Near- and Shortwave Infrared Imaging". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 56 (42): 13126–13129. doi: 10.1002/anie.201706974 . ISSN   1521-3773. PMID   28806473.
  7. 1 2 "Novel medical imaging approach unlocks potential for improved diagnoses and interventions". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  8. ↑ "Ellen Sletten | Princeton University Department of Chemistry". chemistry.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  9. ↑ "Graduate Research Fellowships | ACS Division of Organic Chemistry" . Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  10. ↑ "Winners Of Graduate Organic Fellowships Announced". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  11. ↑ "Previous Winners - Thieme Chemistry - Georg Thieme Verlag". Thieme. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  12. ↑ "2018 UCLA Alpha Chi Sigma (AXΣ) Glenn Seaborg Award | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  13. ↑ "2018 Sloan Research Fellowships | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  14. ↑ "2019 ACS PMSE Young Investigator | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  15. ↑ "2020 ICBS Young Chemical Biologist award | UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry". www.chemistry.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
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