BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4// BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20250928T055559EDT-3461ZDBrao@132.216.98.100 DTSTAMP:20250928T095559Z DESCRIPTION:Abstract:\n\nPhenols are important components of animal\, plant and fungal tissues\, where they perform a variety of biological functions including bioadhesion\, pigmentation\, chemical defense\, redox and antio xidant properties. One of the most important classes of phenols are catech ols (ortho-dihydroxyphenyls)\, whose occurrence in humans is largely limit ed to dopamine and related neurotransmitters\, and 3\,4-dihydroxy-L-alanin e (DOPA)\, the main building block of melanin. Although catechols are rare ly found in structural proteins in mammals\, they are key components of st ructural tissues in some marine invertebrates. Celebrated examples are the proteins of the byssus\, the attachment organ of the mussel. Several byss al proteins contain high levels of DOPA\, which is believed to contribute to both the interfacial and bulk mechanical performance of the tissue. Ful filling such diverse roles is possible because catechols participate in a remarkably broad and complex range of chemical interactions that include n oncovalent coordination interactions with metals/metal oxides\, strong hyd rogen bond\, cation-pi and pi-pi interactions\, redox activity\, and coval ent coupling with nucleophilic organic species.\n\nIn the first part of th is talk I will review the many functions of catechols in the mussel byssus \, including results of ongoing studies aimed at shedding new light on the molecular mechanics of DOPA at solid-liquid interfaces. In the second par t of the talk I will provide a few selected examples of how we seek to exp loit catechols as building blocks of synthetic bioinspired adhesives\, hyd rogels and coatings. Finally\, I will conclude with a few comments on plan t polyphenols\, which are biologically sourced\, renewable\, and have simi lar physicochemical properties that make them attractive as building block s for functional materials.\n\nBio:\n\nPhillip B. Messersmith is the Class of 1941 Professor in the Departments of Bioengineering and Materials Scie nce and Engineering at UC-Berkeley. He earned his B.S. degree in life scie nces from the University of Illinois at Urbana\, M.S degree in bioengineer ing from Clemson University\, and his Ph.D. degree in materials science an d engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana. Previously\, Dr. Messersmith was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University (1993-1994)\, and a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago (1994-1997) and Northwestern University (1997-2014). Dr. Messersmith has published ove r 200 papers and has 43 patents. His awards and honors include a MERIT awa rd from the National Institutes of Health\, the Langmuir Lecture Award fro m the American Chemical Society\, and the 2013 Clemson Award for Basic Res earch from the Society for Biomaterials. Dr. Messersmith is a fellow of th e American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering\, the Royal So ciety of Chemistry\, and the International Union of Societies of Biomateri als Science and Engineering. The Messersmith research group is interested in understanding structure-processing-property relationships of materials in biological systems\, and in using this information to inform the design and synthesis of biologically inspired synthetic materials for a variety of practical applications.\n DTSTART:20200114T180000Z DTEND:20200114T193000Z LOCATION:Room 10\, Maass Chemistry Building\, CA\, QC\, Montreal\, H3A 0B8\ , 801 rue Sherbrooke Ouest SUMMARY:The 2020 Clifford B. Purves Lecture: Phil Messersmith - URL:/chemistry/channels/event/2020-clifford-b-purves-l ecture-phil-messersmith-303017 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR