Macromolecular Mechanisms of Biomimetic and Biological Assembly
Abstract
We propose to perform a complementary set of experiments, statistical mechanics based polymer theory, and multiscale molecular modeling on four major areas- (1) New paradigms of structural phase transitions in biomolecular condensates that constitute to a new class of biological organelles without their enclosing membranes, (2) Internal structure and fibrillization in biomolecular con￾densates, (3) Single molecule translocation of intrinsically disordered proteins and their complexes through a single nanopore, and (4) Volume phase transitions of mucus gel and its biomimetics. The conceptual framework to be generated from the proposed research will be general and applicable to a vast set of biomolecular assemblies as well as to make a fundamental understanding of mucus and their mimics. The expected outcome of the proposed research is a fundamental understanding of how biological macromolecules such as intrinsically disordered proteins and RNA organize among themselves and move around in crowded environments. The proposed work is complementary to the ongoing efforts in the current program and many other laboratories worldwide. Our proposal builds on various fundamental concepts from polymer physics, which are pragmatically suited to successfully address the rich phenomenology of biological and biomimetic assemblies. Our work will be conducted in synergistic cooperation between us and several experimental research groups participating in the Natural Materials and Systems Program. In addition, we will continue to pro￾vide support to the program participants with our static and dynamic light scattering expertise as well as theoretical-modeling expertise.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 07, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310584
Entities
People
- Murugappan Muthukumar
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Massachusetts