Seminar

GWC2 Wednesday Afternoon Research Seminars: Derek Schipper

Victoria Van Cappellen — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 15:08:06 +0000

GWC2 Wednesday Afternoon Research Seminars: Derek Schipper Victoria Van C… Thu, 11/04/2021 - 11:08

Functional materials enabled by synthetic advances

Derek Schipper
Department of Chemistry
University of ��ݮ��Ƶ

Wednesday, November 17, 2021
3:00 p.m.
Online via Microsoft Teams

Please contact gwc@uoguelph.ca with your Teams ID/email address to attend the seminars.
All are welcome to attend!

ABSTRACT: Conjugated organic materials such as conductive polymers and single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are quickly becoming indispensable for technologies such as photovoltaics, light emitting diodes and field effect transistors. Therefore, efficient assembly and deposition of these materials is an important goal. Advancing synthetic strategies provide a direct way to streamline synthesis, render new architectures synthetically accessible and control the material properties. This talk will discuss our recent efforts developing a dehydration polymerization strategy to access novel, heterocycle containing, conjugated polymers as well as a synthetic "bottom up" approach for the simultaneous sorting and alignment of SWNTs.

GWC2 Wednesday Afternoon Research Seminars: Juewen Liu

Victoria Van Cappellen — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 14:49:16 +0000

GWC2 Wednesday Afternoon Research Seminars: Juewen Liu Victoria Van C… Thu, 10/21/2021 - 10:49

Catalytic DNA, aptamers, and gold nanoparticles

Juewen Liu
Department of Chemistry
University of ��ݮ��Ƶ

Wednesday, November 3, 2021
3:00 p.m.
Online via Microsoft Teams

Please contact gwc@uoguelph.ca with your Teams ID/email address to attend the seminars.
All are welcome to attend!

ABSTRACT: While DNA is known for its function as a genetic material, since the early 1990s, DNA was found to also possess chemical functions such as ligand binding and catalysis, and such functional DNA molecules are called aptamersand catalytic DNA (DNAzymes), respectively. Catalytic DNA and aptamershave been extensively used to develop biosensors. Interfacing DNA with gold nanoparticles has been a very popular method for the design of both fluorescent and colorimetric biosensors. We found that the adsorption of DNA on gold nanoparticles to be extremely strong, such as the adsorbed DNA, loses its ability to hybridize. In addition, the adsorption of target molecules on gold nanoparticles needs to be considered. Finally, we found that some reported aptamersactually cannot bind their claimed targets, and they can be attributed to the neglected target/gold surface interactions during the binding assays.

Master's Seminar - Jincheng Ren

Madeleine Blauel — Fri, 09 May 2025 15:08:34 +0000

Master's Seminar - Jincheng Ren Madeleine Blauel Fri, 05/09/2025 - 11:08

Bridging Two Worlds: Synthesis of an Imidazopyrimidine-based Tetrametallic Macrocyclic Complex

Supervisor: D. Schipper
Committee members: G. Murphy, J. Corrigan

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
2:30 pm

C2-361

Master's Seminar - Danyah Khan

Madeleine Blauel — Fri, 09 May 2025 15:02:52 +0000

Master's Seminar - Danyah Khan Madeleine Blauel Fri, 05/09/2025 - 11:02

Optimizing Perovskite Solar Cells: Fluorinated Ligand vs. Polymer Passivatio

Supervisor: V. Maheshwari
Committee members: P. Radovanovic, T. Leung

Thursday, July 3, 2025
2:30 pm

C2-361

Master's Seminar - Lauren DiLoreto

Madeleine Blauel — Fri, 09 May 2025 14:49:03 +0000

Master's Seminar - Lauren DiLoreto Madeleine Blauel Fri, 05/09/2025 - 10:49

Upcycling of Polyolefins into Stress-Responsive Materials

Supervisor: Y. Lin
Committee members: J. Duhamel, E. Prince

Thursday, June 26, 2025
2:30 pm

C2-278

Master's Seminar - Pavithra Parthiban

Madeleine Blauel — Fri, 09 May 2025 14:37:20 +0000

Master's Seminar - Pavithra Parthiban Madeleine Blauel Fri, 05/09/2025 - 10:37

Chiroptical properties of hybrid halide perovskites

Supervisor: P. Radovanovic
Committee members: H. Kleinke, V. Maheshwari

Tuesday, June 24, 2025
2:30 pm

C2-361

Chemistry Seminar Series: Fabien Gatti

Barbara Levai-Sharpe — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 18:00:20 +0000

Chemistry Seminar Series: Fabien Gatti Barbara Levai-Sharpe Wed, 04/30/2025 - 14:00

Precise Description of Quantum Phenomena in Chemistry: Applications of the Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree (MCTDH) Method

Fabien Gatti
Research Professor, CNRS
University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté

Thursday, May 1, 2025
11:00 a.m.

C2-361 (Reading Room)

Abstract: Many molecular processes are now known to be influenced by strong quantum effects involving nuclei. The appropriate theory to describe the corresponding dynamics is molecular quantum dynamics, which is based on solving the Schrödinger equations for the nuclei. These approaches serve as a reference for more approximate methods used to address condensed-phase systems, such as path integral methods or semi-classical methods for non-adiabatic processes in photochemistry. Moreover, they enable the extraction of highly precise experimental data, providing a fine understanding of emerging quantum phenomena in chemical processes. The main challenge lies in the limitation on the size of systems that can be treated. Here, we present several applications of the Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree (MCTDH) method to the understanding and control of molecular processes involving quantum effects. A particular focus will be placed on full-dimensional spectroscopy of protonated molecules: the bare cation (33D), the extended Zundel cation (51D), and the formation of C-H bonds during the collision of hydrogen atoms on a graphene surface (75D).

Biography: http://www.ismo.u-psud.fr/spip.php?rubrique413&lang=en

Chemistry Seminar Series: Jean-Philippe Julien

Barbara Levai-Sharpe — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 13:32:14 +0000

Chemistry Seminar Series: Jean-Philippe Julien Barbara Levai-Sharpe Fri, 04/11/2025 - 09:32

Antibody-Epitope Descriptions Guide the Design of Next-Generation Biomedical Interventions against Malaria

Jean-Philippe Julien
Associate Professor, Departments of Biochemistry and Immunology
University of Toronto

Tuesday, May 13, 2025
2:30 p.m.

In-person: C2-361

Abstract: Malaria continues to pose a significant burden to global health. A strong need exists for the development of a diverse panel of intervention strategies and modalities to combat malaria. Deploying interventions that target bottlenecks in the transmission life cycle of the causative agent of malaria, Plasmodium parasites, is an attractive strategy. The development of highly potent antibody-based biologics, including vaccines, can be greatly facilitated by an in-depth molecular understanding of antibody-epitope interactions. We and others have structurally characterized antibodies targeting lead vaccine candidates expressed during the bottlenecks of the Plasmodium life cycle, which include the pre-erythrocytic and sexual stages. The repeat region of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), domain 1 of Pfs230 and domains 1 and 3 of Pfs48/45 are critical Plasmodium regions targeted by the most potent antibodies at the two bottlenecks of transmission as parasites transit between the human host and mosquito vector. Vaccine candidates are being engineered to target specifically these epitopes towards the development of next-generation biomedical interventions that can aid in meeting the ambitious goals of malaria elimination and eradication.

Jean-Philippe Julien received his B.Sc. from McGill University, obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and trained as a postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute. In 2014, he joined the Molecular Medicine Program at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and the Departments of Biochemistry and Immunology at the University of Toronto where he leads a team of multi-disciplinary researchers. His laboratory focuses on the molecular characterization of antibodies by studies of their interactions with a variety of viral, bacterial, parasitic and cell-surface antigens, providing the atomic blueprints for the development of next-generation therapeutics and vaccines. Notably, he is the Canada Research Chair in Structural Immunology and a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada.

2025 (GWC)2 Annual Meeting, Speaker, Poster and Awards Presentation

McKenna Pulsipher — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 17:34:43 +0000

2025 (GWC)2 Annual Meeting, Speaker, Poster and Awards Presentation McKenna Pulsipher Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:34

GWC²Faculty, Graduate Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Staff, please come out and join us for some or all of the following events on:

Friday, May 2, 2025

Guelph Campus Rozanski Hall Bullring

Please note:If you require parking, reach out to Kim Rawson at krawson@uwaterloo.ca and she will provide a link to register.

Time	Event
1:00-1:15 p.m.	PhD seminar winner - ��ݮ��Ƶ
1:15-1:30 p.m.	PhD seminar winner - Guelph
1:30 p.m.	(GWC)² Annual General Meeting
3:00 p.m.	Prof. Juewen Liu presentation entitled “DNA Aptamers for Small Molecules, Metal Ions, Proteins, Cells, Tissues and Plastics”
Ongoing	Poster judging - Rozanski Hall Concourse
4:00-6:00 p.m.	Awards presentation and reception - Bullring**

**Drink tickets and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Tickets for a complimentary drink are available after Monday, April 28th from Tracy Burns (SSC 2517) at Guelph or from Madeleine Blauel (C2-260C) at ��ݮ��Ƶ

Chemistry Seminar Series: Joelle N. Pelletier

Barbara Levai-Sharpe — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 15:31:31 +0000

Chemistry Seminar Series: Joelle N. Pelletier Barbara Levai-Sharpe Tue, 03/25/2025 - 11:31

Accelerating Discovery of Substrate Promiscuity in Biocatalyzed Oxidations

Joelle N. Pelletier
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Université de Montréal

Tuesday, April 8, 2025
11:00 a.m.

C2-361 (reading room)

Abstract:

Enzymes collectively display a great breadth of catalytic properties yet are individually confined to one or a few specific catalytic tasks. Despite key advances in enzyme engineering, our capacity to predict the effects of mutations on function remains nebulous. Here we present advances in engineering non-native substrate recognition for biocatalyzed transformation into useful products. We examine cytochrome P450 oxidase from Bacillus megaterium (P450 BM3) in its capacity to functionalize C-H bonds. Cost-effective, high-throughput colorimetric screening at the whole-cell level had previously suggested a correlation between the production of indigo and increased substrate promiscuity, in a small number of P450 BM3 variants. We greatly expand the diversity of indigo-producing P450 BM3 variants and demonstrate a correlation with promiscuous aromatic hydroxylation reactions. We look ahead to the potential for large experimental datasets to train smarter design algorithms for enzyme engineering.
.

Figure 1 – Introduction of sequence diversity in cytochrome P450 oxidase from Bacillus megaterium (P450 BM3).

Biography: Following a Ph.D. from McGill U. and postdoctoral fellowships at U. de Montréal and at the U. of Zürich, Joelle Pelletier became a Professor of Chemistry and Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology at U. de Montréal in 1999. Professor Pelletier has established advanced methods for automated and high-throughput protein engineering, biocatalysis and computational models, as reported in over 120 publications and 15 patents. Evolution of antibiotic resistance, generation of ‘smart’ protein libraries and protein dynamics are prominent among her research topics. Her transdisciplinary research has provided remarkable insights into the fundamentals of protein biology. Since 2021, she holds the Canada Research Chair in Engineering of Applied Proteins.
She has also served for 12 years as co-director of PROTEO, the Québec Network for Protein Function, Engineering and Applications and is Associate Editor at ACS Catalysis since 2021. In 2015 she launched the start-up company Affinité Instruments where she serves as VP-Research. She has been awarded the 2021 Clara Benson award of the Canadian Society for Chemistry, recognizing her distinguished contribution to chemistry. Pelletier is passionate about mentoring and promoting the young scientists who now lead the new generation of researchers.