CAREER: Expanding the Structural Complexity and Functional Repertoire of Sequence-Specific Polyamide Oligomers

美国国家科学基金会化学部的化学结构、动力学和机制项目支持圣克拉拉大学的Amelia Fuller教授使用结合溶剂变色染料和双砷荧光团合成和物理化学分析类肽和扩展类肽聚酰胺。本研究的目的是了解分子内组装作为类肽结构的功能，并发现具有三级和四级结构的新类肽。筛选高效合成的肽库将导致快速评估分子间和分子内的关联事件，从而方便地识别导致高阶结构的基序。显示有趣的关联和折叠特性的分子将通过公共在线数据库（D3）用于药物发现研究。该研究的广泛影响包括为本科生提供参与有机合成，组合筛选方法，甚至微生物实验室抗微生物活性测试的研究机会。富勒教授在她的机构创造了一个独特的机会，将她的研究活动直接融入学年的化学和生物教学环境中。除了为期一年的研究项目外，还计划了独立的暑期项目。

The Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms Program in the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation supports Professor Amelia Fuller of Santa Clara University, for the synthesis and physiochemical analyses of peptoid and extended peptoid polyamides using bound solvatochromic dyes and biarsenical fluorophores. The goals of this research are to understand intramolecular assembly as a function of peptoid structure, and to discover new peptoids with tertiary and quaternary structure. Screening of efficiently synthesized peptoid libraries will lead to rapid evaluation of both inter- and intra molecular association events, allowing facile identification of motifs leading to higher-order structures. Molecules showing interesting association and folding properties will be used for drug discovery studies through a public online database (D3).Broader impacts of the research include opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved in research in organic synthesis, combinatorial screening methods, and even anti-microbial activity testing in a microbiology laboratory. Professor Fuller has created a unique opportunity at her institution to integrate her research activities directly into both chemistry and biology teaching environments during the academic year. In addition to yearlong research projects, independent summer projects are also planned.