Scott K. Silverman
Associate Professor of Chemistry,
Associate Professor of Biochemistry,
Associate Professor of Biophysics
Professor Silverman received the B.S. degree in chemistry from UCLA in 1991. He obtained the Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Caltech in 1997, working with Dennis Dougherty on physical-organic chemistry and molecular neurobiology, and he performed postdoctoral research with Thomas Cech at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 2000, working in the areas of organic chemistry and chemical biology.
Research
The Silverman laboratory studies fundamental and applied aspects of the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. In these efforts, we use concepts and techniques from organic chemistry, chemical biology, and biochemistry. We study DNA as a catalyst (deoxyribozyme) for bioorganic chemical reactions; we apply double-stranded DNA as a nanoscale structural constraint for other macromolecules; we investigate fundamental features of RNA folding and catalysis; and we develop allosteric nucleic acid enzymes (aptazymes) for practical detection of environmental toxins, pollutants, and other compounds. For more information on our research projects, and to access a full publications list, please visit our Research Group homepage.Publications
"DNA and RNA Can Be Equally Efficient Catalysts for Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation", M. Chandra and S. K. Silverman, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 2936-2937.
"DNA-Catalyzed Formation of Nucleopeptide Linkages", P. I. Pradeepkumar, C. Höbartner, D. A. Baum, and S. K. Silverman, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2008, 47, 1753-1757.
"Improvement of DNA Adenylation Using T4 DNA Ligase with a Template Strand and a Strategically Mismatched Acceptor Strand", M. P. Patel, D. A. Baum, and S. K. Silverman, Bioorg. Chem. 2008, 36, 46-56.
"Recent Advances in DNA Catalysis", C. Höbartner and S. K. Silverman, Biopolymers 2007, 87, 279-292.
"Allosteric Control of Ribozyme Catalysis by Using DNA Constraints", E. Zelin and S. K. Silverman, ChemBioChem 2007, 8, 1907-1911.
"Engineering a Selective Small-Molecule Substrate Binding Site into a Deoxyribozyme", C. Höbartner and S. K. Silverman, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 7420-7424.
"Site-Selective Depurination by a Periodate-Dependent Deoxyribozyme", C. Höbartner, P. I. Pradeepkumar, and S. K. Silverman, Chem. Commun. 2007, 2255-2257.
"Ty1 Reverse Transcriptase Does Not Read Through the Proposed 2',5'-Branched Retrotransposition Intermediate In Vitro", E. D. Pratico and S. K. Silverman, RNA 2007, 13, 1528-1536.
"Deoxyribozyme-Catalyzed Labeling of RNA", D. A. Baum and S. K. Silverman, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 3502-3504.
"Control of Macromolecular Structure and Function Using Covalently Attached Double-Stranded DNA Constraints", S. K. Silverman, Mol. Biosyst. 2007, 3, 24-29.
"Tools for Molecular Diversification and Their Applications in Chemical Biology", S. K. Silverman and P. J. Hergenrother, Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 2006, 10, 185-187 (editorial overview of June 2006 special issue on combinatorial chemistry & molecular diversity).
"Experimental Tests of Two Proofreading Mechanisms for 5′-Splice Site Selection", Y. Wang and S. K. Silverman, ACS Chem. Biol. 2006, 1, 316-324.
"Synthesis and Application of a 5′-Aldehyde Phosphoramidite for Covalent Attachment of DNA to Biomolecules", C. V. Miduturu and S. K. Silverman, J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 5774-5777.
"Efficient RNA 5'-Adenylation By T4 DNA Ligase To Facilitate Practical Applications", Y. Wang and S. K. Silverman, RNA 2006, 12, 1142-1146.
"Adenosine is Inherently Favored as the Branch-Site RNA Nucleotide in a Structural Context that Resembles Natural RNA Splicing", E. Zelin, Y. Wang, and S. K. Silverman, Biochemistry 2006, 45, 2767-2771.
"Fluorescence of Covalently Attached Pyrene as a General RNA Folding Probe", M. K. Smalley and S. K. Silverman, Nucleic Acids Res. 2006, 34, 152-166.
"Modulation of DNA Constraints that Control Macromolecular Folding", C. V. Miduturu and S. K. Silverman, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 1918-1921.
"A General Two-Step Strategy to Synthesize Lariat RNAs", Y. Wang and S. K. Silverman, RNA 2006, 12, 313-321.
Awards
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2007)
- Beckman Fellow, UIUC Center for Advanced Study (2004)
- Packard Foundation Fellowship (2003)
- March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Research Award (2003)
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund Award (2001)
- Excellence in Teaching Award, UIUC School of Chemical Sciences (2001 and 2004)
Highlights
"DNA-Catalyzed Formation of Nucleopeptide Linkages" by P. I. Pradeepkumar, C. Höbartner, D. A. Baum, and S. K. Silverman (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 1753-1757) was selected as a Research Highlight in the March 2008 issue of Nature Chemical Biology. See http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/
v4/n3/full/nchembio0308-167.html.
"Site-Selective Depurination by a Periodate-Dependent Deoxyribozyme" by C. Höbartner, P. I. Pradeepkumar, and S. K. Silverman (Chem. Commun. 2007, 2255-2257) was chosen for a "Hot Article" feature story. See http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/cc/News/B704507G_Silverman_190607.asp.
"Modulation of DNA Constraints that Control Macromolecular Folding" by C. V. Miduturu and S. K. Silverman (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 1918-1921) was chosen as an RSC Chemistry World highlight and also featured as a U of I College of LAS News highlight. See http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2006/February/27020601.asp and http://www.las.uiuc.edu/news/2006spring/06april_dnatools.html.
"DNA Constraints Allow Rational Control of Macromolecular Conformation" by C. V. Miduturu and S. K. Silverman (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 10144-10145) was the focus of a U of I press release and was a feature story in the Champaign (Illinois) News-Gazette. See http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/05/0628dna.html and http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2005/07/17/researchers_turn_dna_into_a_tool.
"Efficient One-Step Synthesis of Biologically Related Lariat RNAs by a Deoxyribozyme" by Y. Wang and S. K. Silverman (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 5863-5866) was featured as a Research Highlight in the September 2005 issue of Nature Chemical Biology. See http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/v1/n4/full/nchembio0905-195.html.
Prof. Silverman's selection as a 2003 Fellow of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation was featured in a U of I press release. See http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/03/1007packard.html.
"Deoxyribozymes that Synthesize Branched and Lariat RNA" by Y. Wang and S. K. Silverman (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 6880-6881) was the focus of a U of I press release and was a U of I College of LAS News highlight. See http://www.news.uiuc.edu/scitips/03/0516lariat.html and http://www.las.uiuc.edu/news/2003/03fall_lassoRNA.html.
