Adjunct Professor
University of Missouri, St. Louis
http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/artscience/chem/gokellab/
Our major interest is in weak chemical interactions that permit and control the binding of molecules and cations to other molecules. We use the principles of physical organic chemistry in concert with chemical synthesis to address these problems. The major focus of our laboratory is the development of synthetic, cation and anion channel models. We have developed a fully functional, synthetic channel former that conducts protons and sodium cations in phospholipid bilayers. In addition, we have recently produced a synthetic channel that shows high anion selectivity in vesicles and planar bilayer experiments. We are currently elaborating these systems in a variety of ways. Our long-term goals are to develop channels that will selectively transport cations, anions and small molecular species through membranes having specific compositions. Such compounds have obvious therapeutic applications, and have already shown high levels of biological activity. Potential interactions in channels have led to an extensive study of cation-pi interactions between sodium and/or potassium cations and the sidechains of Trp, Phe, and Tyr. We have demonstrated that these cation-pi interactions do indeed occur, and can also be achieved using double-bond and triple-bond pi systems.