Sletten, Ellen M.
| Website | Home URL |
| Division | Organic |
| Title |
Faculty Assistant Professor John McTague Career Development Chair |
| Specialties | Biophysics Nanoscience and Materials Analytical Organic |
Contact Information
| Office | 4505A Molecular Sciences 310 825-4452 |
| Lab | 4210, 4224 Molecular Sciences |
Short Biography
The Prof. Ellen Sletten received her BS in Chemistry from Stonehill College in 2006. She pursued her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley with Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi. Her thesis work involved the optimization and development of bioorthogonal chemistries and their subsequent applications in labeling living systems. Upon graduation in 2011, Prof. Sletten performed her postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Prof. Tim Swager at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow. She joined the faculty at UCLA as an Assistant Professor and the John T. McTague Career Development Chair in 2015.
Research Interest
The Sletten Group exploits the unique properties of fluorinated materials to develop diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. Research within the group encompasses an interdisciplinary mix of organic synthesis, fluorous chemistry, chemical biology, nanoscience, supramolecular chemistry, polymer synthesis, photophysics and pharmacology.
Honors & Awards
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, 2012-2014
ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Graduate Fellowship, 2009-2010
Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, 2004-2006
Publications
19. Niroui, F.; Wang, A.I.; Sletten, E.M.; Song, Y.; Kong, J.; Yablonovitch, E.; Swager, T.M.; Lang, J.H.; Bulovic, V. “Tunneling nanoelectromechanical switches based on compressible molecular thin films.” ACS Nano 2015, 9, 7886-7894.
18. Zarzar, L.D.; Sresht, V.; Sletten, E.M.; Kalow, J.A.; Blankschtein, D.; Swager, T.M. “Dynamically reconfigurable complex emulsions via tunable interfacial tensions.” Nature 2015, 518, 520-524.
17. Koo, B.; Sletten, E.M.; Swager, T.M. “Efficient synthesis of functionalized poly(3-hexylthiophenes)s via lithium-bromine exchange.” Macromolecules 2015, 48, 229-235.
16. Sletten, E.M.; Swager, T.M. “Fluorofluorophores: fluorescent fluorous chemical tools spanning the visible spectrum.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 13574-13577.
15. Sletten, E.M.; de Almeida, G.; Bertozzi, C.R. “A homologation approach to the synthesis of difluorinated cycloalkynes.” Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 1634-1637.
14. Agarwal, P.; van der Weijden, J.; Sletten, E.M.; Rabuka, D.; Bertozzi, C.R. “A Pictet-Spengler ligation for protein chemical modification.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2013, 110, 46-51.
13. Gordon, C.G.; Mackey, J.; Jewett, J.C.; Sletten, E.M.; Houk, K.N.; Bertozzi, C.R. “Reactivity of biarylazacyclooctynones in copper-free click chemistry.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 9199-9208.
12. Yao, J.Z.; Uttamapinant, C.; Poloukhtine, A.; Baskin, J.M.; Codelli, J.A.; Sletten, E.M.; Bertozzi, C.R.; Popik, V.V.; Ting, A,Y. “Fluorophore targeting to cellular proteins via enzyme-mediated azide ligation and strain-promoted cycloaddition.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 3720-3728.
11. de Almeida, G.; Sletten, E.M.; Nakamura, H.; Palaniappan, K.K.; Bertozzi, C.R. “Thiacycloalkynes for Cu-free click chemistry.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 2443-2447.
10. Sletten, E.M.; Bertozzi, C.R. “A bioorthogonal quadricyclane ligation.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 17570-17573.
9. Sletten, E.M.; Bertozzi, C.R. “From mechanism to mouse: a tale of two bioorthogonal reactions.” Acc. Chem. Res. 2011, 44, 666-676.
8. Kelly, C.B.; Colthart, A.M.; Constant, B.D.; Corning, S.R.; Dubois, L.N.; Genovese, J.T.; Radziewicz, J.L.; Sletten, E.M.; Whitaker, K.R.; Tilley, L.J. “Enabling the synthesis of perfluoroalkyl bicyclobutanes via 1,3 g-silyl elimination.” Org. Lett. 2011, 13, 1646-1649.
7. Sletten, E.M.; Nakamura, H.; Jewett, J.C.; Bertozzi, C.R. “Difluorobenzocyclooctyne: synthesis, characterization, and stabilization by b-cyclodextrin.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 11799-11805.
6. Chang, P.V.; Dube, D.H.; Sletten, E.M.; Bertozzi, C.R. “A strategy for the selective imaging of glycans using caged metabolic precursors.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 9516-9518.
5. Jewett, J.C.; Sletten, E.M.; Bertozzi, C.R. “Rapid Cu-free click chemistry with readily synthesized biarylazacyclooctynones.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 3688-3690.
4. Chang, P.V.*; Prescher, J.A.*; Sletten, E.M.; Baskin, J.M.; Miller, I.A.; Agard, N.J.; Lo, A.; Bertozzi, C.R. “Copper-free click chemistry in living animals.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2010, 107, 1821-1826.
3. Sletten, E.M.; Bertozzi, C.R. “Bioorthogonal chemistry: fishing for selectivity in a sea of functionality.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 6974-6998.
2. Sletten, E.M.; Bertozzi, C.R. “A hydrophilic azacyclooctyne for Cu-free click chemistry.” Org. Lett. 2008, 10, 3097-3099.
1. Sletten, E.M.; Liotta, L.J. “A flexible stereospecific synthesis of polyhydroxyated pyrrolizidines from commercially available pyranosides.” J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 1335-1343.