Engineering proteins to detect counterfeit molecules

许多生物传感器的核心是一种蛋白质，它被设计成结合目标分子。为了能够执行这一功能，蛋白质需要在固定在传感器表面的同时以高亲和力和特异性结合其靶标。它还必须在设备的运行条件下保持稳定。本项目的目的是利用一种具有很高工程潜力的新型蛋白质支架，构建一种用于生物传感器应用的新型蛋白质检测分子。该项目是约克大学的三个学术研究小组(普莱文、约翰逊和阿吉雷小组)与生物传感器公司Eluceda(www.eluceda.com)之间的多学科合作。你将使用尖端的计算方法来设计以适当的特异性结合目标的蛋白质支架；生产候选蛋白质并使用不同的溶液和基于表面的分析来表征它们；以及评估用于商业生物传感器的有前途的候选蛋白质。您将接受该项目所有学科的广泛培训，包括计算蛋白质设计的最新方法(例如AlphaFold2)、结构生物学、生物物理学和基于表面的分子相互作用检测方法的技术，以及用于商业应用的生物传感器设计。你还将通过在Eluceda的借调获得技术商业经验。这个为期4年的全额资助的博士项目非常适合对蛋白质设计和工程感兴趣的人，他们希望设计、构建和测试他们的想法，并看到它们应用于现实世界的工业应用。

At the heart of many biosensors is a protein that has been engineered to bind the target molecule. To be able to perform this function, the protein needs to bind its target with high affinity and specificity while immobilised on a sensor surface. It must also be stable under the operating conditions of the device. The aim of this project to build a new class of protein detection molecule for biosensor applications using a novel protein scaffold that has high potential for engineering. The project is a multidisciplinary collaboration between three academic research groups at the University of York (Plevin, Johnson and Agirre groups) and the biosensor company Eluceda (www.eluceda.com). You will use cutting-edge computational approaches to design protein scaffolds that bind their targets with appropriate specificity; produce candidate proteins and characterise them using different solution and surface-based assays; and evaluate promising candidates for use in commercial biosensors. You will receive a broad training across all disciplines of the project, including the latest approaches for computational protein design (e.g. AlphaFold2), techniques in structural biology, biophysics and surface-based methods for detecting molecular interactions, and the design of biosensors for commercial applications. You will also gain techno-commercial experience via secondments at Eluceda. This 4-year fully funded PhD project is ideally suited to someone interested in protein design and engineering who wants to design, build and test their ideas and see them applied to real world industrial applications.