Hierarchical Assembly of Peptide Motifs

在化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目的支持下，普渡大学的Jean Chmielewski教授利用球棒原子和分子积木，在非常小的(纳米到微)尺度上进行研究，构建独特的结构。Chmielewski教授研究了如何通过在分子水平上改变构建块来控制它们制造的结构的大小和形状。这些纳米和微型结构可能有许多用途，例如将药物输送到身体的不同部位或帮助生长新的器官。Chmielewski教授培训了许多从事这一项目的化学学生。她正在努力改善普渡大学化学研究生群体的多样性。通过这种方式，新一代多样化的科学家将可以应对21世纪的技术挑战。将纳米级构建块分级组装成微米级功能材料是设计用于技术应用的设备的有效策略。Chmielewski研究小组之前曾使用胶原蛋白多肽三螺旋作为金属-配体相互作用促进的高阶组装的构建块。通过这种方式，她的团队产生了一系列独特的纳米到微结构，包括纤维、圆盘、小飞丝、笼子和三维基质，这些结构可能对生物聚合物输送、成像剂、细胞培养和组织生长有用。在这里，Chmielewski教授研究了卷曲多肽(二聚体到四聚体)和二硫键连接的螺旋束多肽(五聚体到六聚体)作为金属离子促进的高阶组装成纳米和微尺度材料的替代构建块。调节多肽的齐聚状态允许控制显示在构建块上的组装信号的数量，并提供在构建块内设计孔的机会。这项研究的总体目标是拥有完全优化的条件，以根据需要产生不同的多肽纳米和微结构，并对组装过程的机理基础有一个清晰的了解。

Under the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Jean Chmielewski of Purdue University conducts research building unique structures on a very small (nano- to micro-) scale using ball and stick atomic and molecular building blocks. Professor Chmielewski studies how the size and shape of the structures they make can be controlled by changing the building blocks at a molecular level. These nano- and micro-structures may have many uses, such as delivering drugs to different parts of the body or helping to grow new organs. Professor Chmielewski trains many chemistry students who work on this project. She is working to improve the diversity of the chemistry graduate student population at Purdue University. In this way a new generation of diverse scientists will be available to tackle the technological challenges of the 21st century.The hierarchical assembly of nanoscale building blocks into micron-scaled functional materials is a powerful strategy for the design of devices for technological applications. The Chmielewski research group has previously used collagen peptide triple helices as building blocks for higher order assembly promoted by metal-ligand interactions. In this way her group generated a range of unique nano- to micro-structures, including fibers, disks, florettes, cages and 3-dimensional matrices, which are potentially useful for biopolymer delivery, imaging agents, cell culture and tissue growth. Herein Prof. Chmielewski investigates coiled coil peptides (dimer to tetramer) and disulfide-linked helical bundle peptides (pentamer to hexamer) as alternate building blocks for metal ion-promoted higher order assembly into nano- and microscale materials. Modulating the oligomerization state of the peptide allows the control of the number of assembly signals displayed on the building block and provides the opportunity to design pores within the building block. The overall goals of this research are to have fully optimized conditions to generate distinct peptide nano- and micro-structures on demand and to develop a clear understanding of the mechanistic underpinnings of the assembly process.