LEAPS-MPS: Expanding the Peptide Assembly Landscape using Multivalent Peptide Macrocycles with Designable Intermolecular Interfaces

在这个由化学系管理的项目中，Merg教授和他在加州大学默塞德的学生旨在建立新的方法来设计和构建基于肽的纳米材料。发展战略，提供精确控制纳米材料的物理和化学性质的能力是一个关键的步骤，进一步部署在纳米技术的广泛应用。该项目与加州大学默塞德的使命一致，为加州的一个种族多样化和服务不足的地区圣华金河谷提供服务。这项研究将支持当地的高中和大学生，其中大多数来自STEM代表性不足的群体，通过参与沉浸式夏季研究计划，并通过在附近的高中，少数民族服务机构和会议的招聘活动。 Merg教授正在开发用于制造包含多个从头卷曲螺旋肽序列的大肽大环化合物的合成方案。将评估这些多价生物分子通过特异性的、基于正交卷曲螺旋的相互作用缔合以形成各种预定多聚体复合物的能力。该项目的成功可能会产生一种新的肽设计和组装策略，有可能创建完全合成的蛋白质模拟结构，并应用于催化，治疗和传感。该项目将利用Merg教授作为ACS项目SEED的校园协调员的角色（夏季经验的经济困难）通过支持高中学生参与STEM研讨会，邀请会议，并在夏季研究计划结束时设立正式的颁奖典礼。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

In this project managed by the Chemistry Division, Professor Merg and his students at the University of California, Merced aim to establish new approaches to the design and construction of peptide-based nanomaterials. The development of strategies that afford the ability to precisely control the physical and chemical properties of nanomaterials is a critical step in furthering their deployment for a broad range of applications in nanotechnology. The project aligns with the mission of UC Merced in serving the San Joaquin Valley, an ethnically diverse and underserved region of California. This research will support local high school and college students, a majority of whom come from underrepresented groups in STEM, through participation in immersive summer research programs and through recruiting activities at nearby high schools, minority serving institutions, and conferences. Professor Merg is developing synthetic protocols for fabricating large peptide macrocycles that comprise multiple de novo coiled coil peptide sequences. These multivalent biomolecules will be assessed for their ability to associate via specific, orthogonal coiled coil-based interactions to form various predetermined multimeric complexes. Success of the project could yield a new peptide design and assembly strategy with the potential for creating fully synthetic protein-mimetic constructs with applications in catalysis, therapeutics, and sensing. The project will leverage the role of Professor Merg as the campus coordinator of ACS Project SEED (Summer Experiences for the Economically Disadvantaged) by supporting the high school student participants with STEM workshops, invitations to conferences, and the establishment of a formal awards ceremony at the conclusion of the summer research program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.