Functional Biomimetic Architectures

在这个由化学部大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，纽约大学的Kent Kirshenbaum将探索具有折叠能力的新型n -烷基甘氨酸低聚物——类肽，它可以产生独特的三维结构和有价值的功能。类肽低聚物将被合成为包含大量n -取代甘氨酸单体单元的特定序列，并且将使用天然化学连接策略将类肽低聚物片段拼接成复杂序列。工作将与计算化学家一起进行，以建立折叠肽大分子和肽-肽杂化成有序三级结构的指导方针。长期目标是了解控制肽类折叠的规则，并在肽类低聚物的序列、结构和功能之间建立可预测的关系。更广泛的影响将包括培养合成有机化学、聚合物化学、大分子科学和化学生物学等学科的本科生和研究生。该项目还将扩展由美国国家科学基金会（nsf）在纽约大学支持的一个非常成功的科学推广项目——实验烹饪集体。对公众的演讲将包括讨论不同大分子在饮食和人类健康中的作用。这个研究项目将研究如何合成大分子结构，模仿蛋白质的序列和三维结构。这种系统的发展可以解决药理学中关键的未满足的需求，并可以为发现酶样催化剂提供新的策略。科学推广活动将教育公众有关食物和烹饪的科学，为讨论化学原理及其对日常现象的影响创造一个场所。

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Kent Kirshenbaum of New York University will explore novel N-alkyl glycine oligomers, peptoids, with folding capabilities that engender unique three-dimensional structures and valuable functions. Peptoid oligomers will be synthesized to include a specific sequence of a large variety of N-substituted glycine monomer units, and a native chemical ligation strategy will be used to piece together peptoid oligomer fragments into complex sequences. Work will be performed in tandem with computational chemists in order to establish guidelines for folding peptoid macromolecules and peptide-peptoid hybrids into ordered tertiary structures. The long-term objective is to learn the rules that govern peptoid folding and to establish a predictable relationship between the sequence, the structure and the function of peptoid oligomers. The broader impacts will include training undergraduate and graduate students across the disciplines of synthetic organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, macromolecular science, and chemical biology. The project will also expand a highly successful NSF-supported science outreach effort at New York University, the Experimental Cuisine Collective. Presentations to the public will include discussing the roles of different macromolecules in diet and human health.This research project will examine how to synthesize large molecular structures that mimic the sequence and three-dimensional structures of proteins. The development of such systems could address critical unmet needs in pharmacology and could provide new strategies for the discovery of enzyme-like catalysts. The science outreach activities will educate the public regarding the science of food and cooking, creating a venue for the discussion of chemistry principles and their influence in everyday phenomena.