Life is sustained by the controlled self-assembly and disassembly of biomolecules into mesoscale (defined as 100nm-10um) objects in response to external stimuli. For example, cells move using mesoscale scaffolding provided by the cytoskeleton as a result of dynamic assembly/disassembly of proteins. The construction of stimulus-responsive protein-based structures with sizes in the mesoscale range is, thus, key for bottom-up and on-demand fabrication of dynamic biomaterials using self-assembly. Proteins are ideal building blocks as they possess a wide range of structures and functions, and these can be tuned in response to changes in the environment. We aim to utilize nanoscale protein building blocks as modules for the creation of mesoscale objects of defined size and morphology, and use physical and chemical triggers to control assembly formation. These mesoscale assemblies would serve as platforms for the creation of dynamic, functional biomaterials for diverse applications including biosensing, bioremediation, and controlled capture-and-release of molecular cargo. I will describe two recent efforts from my group to construct light- and phosphorylation-dependent protein assemblies with diverse topological dimensions including one-, two- and fractional-dimensions (fractals).

Computational design of stimulus-responsive protein-based mesoscale assemblies

2019 Spring National Meeting

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