Figure 1

Stephen M. Kuebler is investigating the use of patterned folded polypeptides for templating the deposition of a second material into a target 3D nano-scale form. Chemical and physical interactions between the amino acids of a polypeptide chain cause the polymer to form secondary and tertiary structures that result in the final 3D conformation of the folded polypeptide. Certain amino acid sequences are known to generate simple secondary structures, such as alpha-helices and beta-sheets. The folded conformation depends upon the amino acid sequence (the primary structure), the nature of the interactions between the amino acids, and the interactions of the residues with the surrounding medium. Given that some amino acid residues can be used to nucleate the growth of other materials, folded polypeptides could be used to template the growth of a material into a target 3D form. With an appropriate level of control, this process could be used to generate new nano-scale 3D structures.

Figure 1. Schematic for the generation of a target structure by polypeptide nano-templating.

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Stephen M. Kuebler
Department of Chemistry
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL 32816