Tunable Enzyme(MIMETIC) Nanomaterials with Peptide-Polymer Amphiphiles
Abstract
Living organisms from across biological kingdoms use vesicles to direct biomineralization required for native functions; notable examples include calcium-containing vesicles in the extracellular matrix involved in bone mineralization and magnetosomes. Despite significant strides towards understanding the natural systems with advances in the resolution of analytical characterization of biomaterials and in protein structure determination, understanding the dynamics and interactions of different biological components remains a significant challenge. The central goal of this research is to develop a suite of peptide-polymer amphiphiles (PPAs) that assemble into proto-organelles (synthetic membrane-bound compartments) with native and designed peptide domains, and to use this as a platform to enable a synergistic evaluation of the impact of membrane structure on inorganic nanoparticle formation. We aim to 1) discover how the diverse polymer backbones of peptide-polymer amphiphiles (PPAs) can be used to engineer desirable properties (e.g., membrane permeability and co-assembly) and 2) identify design principles for peptides and peptidomimetics that nucleate the growth of inorganic nanomaterials. Controlled crystallization via nanostructured scaffolds will have broad applications including the development of materials with applications in photonics, catalysis and green syntheses, imaging and therapeutic agents, and synthetic materials for the enrichment of valuable ions or contaminants.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2025
- Source ID
- FA95502410271
Entities
People
- Abigail S Knight
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill