Research team demonstrates how changing protein decoration
points impact behavior
(September 24, 2015) Biological
systems are at the source of many products designed to improve our lives.
Recombinant DNA, for example, which retools molecules from multiple genetic
sources for new purposes, has spurred the rise of life-changing therapeutics
like unique blood-clotting proteins and synthetic insulin.
“Novel functional biomaterials make possible transformative
new opportunities to impact society in a beneficial way,” said Michael Jewett,
associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern
University’s McCormick School of Engineering. “Using the same types of machines
used in cells to produce insulin proteins, my lab is exploring if we can create
new types of protein polymers that might have utility in other applications and
materials.”
Jewett’s group, along with the laboratory of Rachel
O’Reilly, professor of chemistry at the University of Warwick in the United
Kingdom, have taken an important step toward that goal by demonstrating a novel
method in which certain kind of polymers can display new and unique
functionalities.
The research is published on the cover in the September
issue of Bioconjugate Chemistry. Jian Li and Arnaz Ranji, postdoctoral
associates in Jewett’s lab, also contributed to the paper. The work was
sponsored by the National Science Foundation Materials World Network program,
DARPA, and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation.