Bio inspired assembly

• Main Author: Chen, Joseph Sihan.
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Materials::Biomaterials
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/35559
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The problems of synthetic biomaterial can be solved with the use of bio inspired self assembled peptide material. The research focus on the ionic complementary peptides. Half length bio inspired ionic complementary peptides have been unable to self assemble into regular structure. With the modification of the peptide with a flexible hydrophobic amino acid glycine, self assembly is achieved. Proline is added to test the helical disrupter’s ability to stop self assembly. The chemical nature of proline allows for pH sensitive self assembly in alkali medium. This would enable receptor specific self assembly that fits alkali medium conformation of the peptide. Chemical basis of self assembly is analyzed by simulation of the secondary structure formed in the same physio- chemical environment as the self assembly experiment. Beta turn structure was found to be the dominant structure in the polypeptide designed. Though the self aggregation propensity of the peptide is zero but the ions of the saline solution enables the self aggregation to take place by enabling the stacking of chains. This flexible, self assembled structure can be the basis of induced fit gene targeting.