Self-Assembly of Peptide-based Nanosheets for 2D Nanoarchitectonics

在这项由化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学计划资助的项目中，埃默里大学的文森特·康蒂塞洛教授正在从多肽设计结构定义的纳米尺寸的二维组件，多肽是蛋白质的基本结构构件。纳米尺度的科学面临的一个主要挑战是能够制备完全控制其大小、形状和化学成分的结构。生物学已经证明，多肽，即化学连接的氨基酸序列，可以组装成一系列定义明确的结构，因此康蒂塞洛教授正在学习如何制作多肽的合成版本，并发现它们可以组装成片状结构的规则。这些相对环保的制造方法的发展将促进纳米级组件的设计和合成，用于利用光学、电子、磁学或生物功能的各种应用。为了应对这一挑战，康蒂塞洛教授使用了定义的序列和分子结构的合成肽。分子水平的信息在给定的结构背景下被用来指导高度特定的分子内和分子间相互作用，从而促进热力学上稳定的和结构上定义的二维组装的自组装。合成的多肽结构基序，包括胶原蛋白三螺旋和α-螺旋，正在作为创建纳米片状组件的构建块进行研究。结构表征方法(X射线纤维衍射、固体核磁共振光谱和低温电子显微镜)被用来确定控制二维组件生长的条件。正在确定的实验条件将促进将纳米片状组件集成到更复杂的结构中，作为创建功能器件的前奏。在康蒂塞洛教授的指导下，并与参与该项目的研究生一起，计划了一个外联计划，将招募本科生和高中生在化学、生物和材料科学的界面上进行这些跨学科的研究。此外，根据埃默里研究人员的最新发现，计划举行为期一学期的埃默里课程顺序研讨会，作为一项潜在的可持续试验，将当地埃默里社区内的教师、研究生、博士后和其他以材料为导向的研究人员联系起来，让本科生参与进来，以便更充分地发展生物分子和材料之间的联系。

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Vincent Conticello of Emory University is designing structurally defined, nanometer-sized two-dimensional assemblies from peptides, a basic structural building block of proteins. A major challenge to science at nanometer scale dimensions is the ability to prepare structures with complete control over their sizes, shapes and chemical compositions. Biology has shown that peptides, chemically linked sequences of amino acids, can assemble into a range of well-defined structures, so Professor Conticello is learning how to make synthetic versions of peptides and discover the rules by which they can be assembled into sheet-like structures. The development of these relatively environmentally benign fabrication methods will promote the design and synthesis of nanoscale assemblies for use in a variety of applications that utilize optical, electronic, magnetic, or biological functions.To meet this challenge, the Professor Conticello employs synthetic peptides of defined sequence and molecular architecture. The molecular-level information is utilized within a given structural context to direct highly specific intra- and inter-molecular interactions that promote self-assembly of thermodynamically stable and structurally defined two-dimensional assemblies. Synthetic peptide structural motifs, including the collagen triple helix and the alpha-helix, are being examined as building blocks for the creation of the nanosheet assemblies. Structural characterization methods (X-ray fiber diffraction, solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy) are employed to define conditions to control the growth of the two-dimensional assemblies. Experimental conditions are being defined that will promote the integration of the nanosheet assemblies into more complex structures as a prelude to the creation of functional devices. Under the direction of Professor Conticello, and in conjunction with the graduate students involved in this project, an outreach program is planned that will recruit undergraduate and high-school students to work on these inter-disciplinary studies at the interface of chemistry, biology, and materials science. In addition, a one-semester seminar session of the Emory course ORDER, On Recent Discoveries by Emory Researchers, is planned as a potentially sustainable trial to connect faculty, graduate students, post-docs and other materials-oriented investigators within the local EMORY community, to engage undergraduate students in order to more fully develop the connection between biological molecules and materials.