Dr. Mike Pluth
Associate ProfessorDept. of Chemistry & Biochemical Biology
University of Oregon, USA
Hangout Title:: Sulfur, Sulfur Everywhere! The Multifaceted Roles of Sulfur-Containing Biomolecules
Hangout Schedule Feb 28th: 8.30 pm EST, 7.30 pm CST, 5.30 pm PST
Education
B.S., University of Oregon, 2004. Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2008 (Robert G. Bergman and Kenneth N. Raymond). Postdoctoral: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008-11 (Stephen J. Lippard).
Honors and Awards: Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, 2003-04; NSF Graduate Research Fellow, 2004-07; ACS Young Investigator Award, 2008; NIH National Research Service Award, 2008-10; NIH Pathway to Independence Award, 2010-14; NSF CAREER Award 2015; Sloan Fellow, 2015; Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar, 2016; UO Oustanding Early Career Award, 2016. At Oregon since 2011.
Research
Research in the Pluth research group is thematically based on different aspects of molecular recognition at the interface of bioorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. Our group uses synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, coupled with spectroscopic investigations, to investigate three main research areas:
Methods of Detection, Delivery, and Quantification of Biological Hydrogen Sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), historically known for its unpleasant rotten-egg smell, is now accepted as an important physiological mediator and signaling agent, joining CO and NO as an endogenous gasotransmitter. Despite its recent emergence as an important biological molecule, investigations have already revealed important physiological and pathological functions of H2S including roles in diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. As the complex biochemical functions of H2S continue to rapidly emerge, the development, refinement, and application of robust, reliable and purpose-inspired chemical tools for studying its multifaceted roles are paramount. Aligned with this need, our group is developing new chemical tools to detect and modulate biological H2S. Such tools include fluorescent, chemiluminescent, and colorimetric methods for H2S detection and quantification as well as slow-releasing H2S donors modulated by biological stimuli. Drawing parallels to the positive impacts of chemical tools for detection, quantification, and delivery of biological NO, we anticipate that these newly-developed chemical tools will enable new investigations into the multifaceted roles H2S in biology.
Probing the Reactions of Hydrogen Sulfide with Biological Targets
Despite the important and diverse roles of biological H2S, little is known about the fundamental chemistry by which H2S exerts its action on discrete biological targets. Unlike gasotrasmitters NO and CO, the physiologically-accessible protonation states of H2S complicate its reactivity, but also allow for modulation of its water/lipid solubility, nucleophilicity, and reduction potential. Aligned with these physicochemical properties, most biological actions of H2S are proposed to occur through interaction with either bioinorganic transition-metal complexes or with sulfur-containing compounds. Despite the substantial consensus regarding the importance of these chemical pathways, significant controversy remains regarding the fundamental chemistry associated with these interactions. Motived by these unmet needs, we are investigating the mechanisms by which H2S reacts with biomimetic transition-metal and organosulfur compounds by using small-molecule systems to simplify the observed reactivity. By simplifying the molecular architectures involved in this chemistry and studying individual interactions, our long-term goal is to develop and use model systems that allow for greater understanding into the fundamental chemistry associated with the storage, translocation, and action of biological H2S.
Hybrid Metal-Ligand Hydrogen-Bonding Supramolecular Architectures
Inspired by the remarkably complex structures generated from Nature’s simple catalog of assembly components, chemists have devised different strategies to harness molecular self-assembly and develop diverse supramolecular constructs. Unlike Nature, however, chemists are not constrained to natural amino acids, bioinorganic metal ions, or the requirements to work in water at physiological pH. By leveraging this expanded chemical space and by using pre-designed components encoded with different chemical information, such as shape, symmetry, directional bonding, and makeup of functional groups, chemists have generated diverse supramolecular architectures held together by metal-ligand or hydrogen-bonding interactions. Despite the breadth of complexes and chemistries generated from the hydrogen-bonding and metal-ligand assembly strategies individually, the interface between these two assembly domains remains underexplored. This underexplored niche offers the prospect of combining different beneficial properties from each assembly strategy to develop new supramolecular complexes and chemistries. To fill this niche, we are designing different ligand components that encoded metal-ligand and hydrogen-bonding motifs to generate pre-designed, functional, self-assembled structures aimed at studying supramolecular dynamics and catalysis. Results from these studies will provide new hybrid supramolecular constructs and rational design methods for combining metal-ligand and hydrogen-bonding interactions to generate pre-designed molecular architectures.
Students and researchers in the Pluth research group can look forward to working in an interdisciplinary group with research interests at the interfaces between organic/inorganic chemistry and chemical biology. Our research relies on many preparative and analytical techniques ranging from organic and organometallic synthesis to tissue culture preparation and computational chemistry. Spectroscopic methods include UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, X-ray crystallography, advanced multidimensional NMR techniques, and other forms of spectroscopy.
Recent Publications
Steiger, A.K.; Yang, Y.; Royzen, M.; Pluth, M.D. "Bio-orthogonal “Click-and-Release” Donation of Caged Carbonyl Sulfide (COS) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)." Chem. Commun. 2017, 53, 1378-1380. [10.1039/C6CC09547J] (open access)
Seidenkranz, D.T.; McGrath, J.M.; Zakharov, L.N.; Pluth, M.D. "Supramolecular Bidentate Phosphine Ligand Scaffolds from Deconstructed Hamilton Receptors." Chem. Commun. 2017, 53, 561-564. [10.1039/C6CC09198A]
Zhao, Y.; Pluth, M.D. "Hydrogen Sulfide Donors Activated by Reactive Oxygen Species." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55(47) 14638-14642. [10.1002/anie.201608052]
Hartle, M.D.; Hansen, R.J.; Tresca, B.W.; Prakel, S.S.; Zakharov, L.N.; Haley, M.M.; Pluth, M.D.; Johnson, D.W. "A Synthetic Supramolecular Receptor for the Hydrosulfide Anion." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55(38), 11480-11484. [10.1002/anie.201605757]
Steiger, A.K.; Pardue, S.; Kevil, C.G.; Pluth, M.D. "Self-Immolative Thiocarbamates Provide Access to Triggered H2S Donors and Analyte Replacement Fluorescent Probes." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 7256-7259. [10.1021/jacs.6b03780] (open access)
Hartle, M.D.; Pluth, M.D. "A Practical Guide to Working with H2S at the Interface of Chemistry and Biology." Chem. Soc. Rev. 2016, 45, 6108-6117. [10.1039/C6CS00212A] (open access)
Henthorn, H.A.; Pluth, M.D. "Mechanistic Insights into the H2S-Mediated Reduction of Aryl Azides Commonly used in H2S Detection." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137(48), 15330-15336. [10.1021/jacs.5b10675] (open access)
Pluth, M.D.; Bailey, T.S.; Hammers, M.D.; Hartle, M.D.; Henthorn, H.A.; Steiger, A.K. "Natural Products Containing Hydrogen Sulfide Releasing Moieties." Synlett 2015, 26(19), 2633-2643. [10.1055/s-0035-1560638]
Hammers, M.D.; Taormina, M.J.; Cerda, M.M.; Montoya, L.A.; Seidenkranz, D.T.; Parthasarathy, R.; Pluth, M.D. "A Bright Fluorescent Probe for H2S Enables Analyte-Responsive, 3D Imaging in Live Zebrafish Using Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy." J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137(32), 10216-10223. [10.1021/jacs.5b04196] (open access)
