CAREER: Smart Protein-Polymer Conjugates for Biotechnology

这项研究的主要目标是通过热触发的分子开关连接到活性位点附近的蛋白质支架上，可逆地调节蛋白质与配体的亲和力。该设计包括一个新的两步策略，结合遗传循环排列和酶辅助的反向蛋白质水解，以产生最终的蛋白质-聚合物偶联物。PI设想了一种可再生的、半连续的生物传感器的未来发展，该传感器基于永稳态聚（NIPAAm）结构，显示“非速率”控制的亲和调制。这项研究活动由一项教育计划补充，该计划涉及两个主要目标：在杜克工程学院为高中生建立一个外展计划，以及扩大生物医学工程课程，包括基因工程、分子生物学和蛋白质工程领域的新选修课程。＊＊＊

9733009 Chilkoti The major goal of the proposed research is to reversibly modulate protein-ligand affinity by a thermally-triggered molecular switch attached to the protein scaffold in the vicinity of the active site. The design includes a novel two-step strategy, combining genetic circular permutation with enzyme-assisted reversed proteolysis, to produce the final protein-polymer conjugate. The PI envisions future development of a regenerable, semi-continuous biosensor based on permustat-poly (NIPAAm) constructs that display "off-rate" controlled affinity modulation. The research activity is complemented by an educational program which addresses two primary aims: the establishment of an outreach program for high school students within the Duke School of Engineering, and the expansion of the Biomedical Engineering curriculum to include new elective courses in the fields of genetic engineering, molecular biology and protein engineering. ***