Chemistry Seminar with Dr. Wenqi Liu from the University of South Florida at 4:00pm

Hydrogen bonding, a weak yet highly directional non-covalent interaction, is fundamental to
the structural integrity and functional dynamics of biological macromolecules. It governs
critical processes such as DNA replication, enzyme-substrate interactions, transmembrane
transport, and cell recognition. While synthetic receptors leveraging hydrogen bonding
exhibit strong substrate affinity in organic solvents, their efficacy in water remains a
challenge due to the extensive hydrogen-bonding network of water itself, which competes
with receptor-substrate interactions and disrupts binding efficacy. Moreover, the synthesis
of water-soluble macrocyclic receptors is often complicated by oligomerization and
purification difficulties. In this presentation, I will discuss our strategies to overcome these
barriers using dynamic imine chemistry and imine-to-amide oxidation, enabling the
construction of structurally defined water-soluble receptors. By integrating hydrogen
bonding functionalities with hydrophobic surfaces or electrostatic binding sites, these
systems leverage multiple non-covalent interactions to revalidate hydrogen bonding in
aqueous environments, thereby enhancing binding affinity and selectivity for hydrophilic
substrates such as carbohydrates and anions. I will also highlight our recent development of
a charge-neutral hydrogen bonding receptor that enables specific phosphate recognition in
water. These findings provide new insights into receptor design, expanding the potential for
synthetic molecular recognition in biologically relevant environments.