Rational Design of Random Copolymers to Incorporate Proteins into Synthetic Materials (Research topic: 7.3 Polymer Chemistry)
Abstract
Proteins, NatureÕs own building blocks, have many attributes unmatched by man-made materials albeit years of efforts. Rather than taking a biomimetic approach, successful integration of functional proteins into synthetic systems can readily access attributes from proteins to address challenges in the field of catalysis, sensing, medicine, molecular machinery and hierarchical structural nanomaterial. However, preservation of protein structure and functionality in non-native environment remains a hurdle to incorporate protein into synthetic material-based devices. We recently designed and synthesized statistically random heteropolymer (RHP) that can effectively solubilize model metalloproteins in organic solvents and can still maintain nearly 80% of their native activity. The ability of RHP to maintain protein property is much more effectively than that of conventional small molecule surfactants and amphiphilic block copolymers. The preliminary results opened new pathways toward protein-based functional materials. However, the system also raised numerous questions due to diverse chemical heterogeneities for both protein and RHP and the energy landscape governing protein structure. Here, we propose to: 1. Develop systematic understanding in the protein/RHP in organic solvents to delineate design principles for protein stabilization in non-native environment; 2. Extend to functional proteins that have more complex surface chemistry, especially those with large fraction of charged surfaces; 3. Fabricate nanostructured protein-based materials in the forms of fiber, thin film and colloidal particle; Fundamentally, the proposed studies will bridge the gap in our understanding at the interface between the synthetic and natural building blocks. The RHP approach eliminates the needs to perform protein surface modification and can be applied to a wide range of proteins that are incompatible with surface modification. Well-controlled protein-polymer conjugate assemblies, when used in conjunction with the rich library of proteins that are available, offer unique opportunities to develop functional materials with a high level of complexity in terms of structure and chemistry.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 22, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1610405
Entities
People
- Ting Xu
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Berkeley