The opioid epidemic in the US needs no introduction. Currently there are over 9.5 million current “nonmedical” opioid users, with over 2.7 million users meeting the opioid use disorder criteria. The misuse and addiction of opioids such as fentanyl is a serious national crisis. In most cases, the cause of death is respiratory suppression. Presently, naloxone is the drug of choice, which competitively binds μ receptors as an antagonist. Nonetheless, its receptor binding half-life is significantly shorter than that of opioids. We are designing a ‘humanized’ protein that can bind fentanyl with high affinity and slow off-rates to assist with removal of opioids from the system upon overdose as a long-term sequestering solution. The process of protein design and optimization of opioid binding will be presented.

Designing a protein-drug sponge for opioid overdose

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ACS Spring 2023

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.