Complex biological machines arise from self-assembly on the basis of structural features programmed into sequence-specific macromolecules (i.e. polypeptides and polynucleotides) at the molecular level. As a consequence of the near-absolute control of macromolecular architecture that results from such sequence specificity, biological structural platforms may have advantages for the creation of functional supramolecular assemblies in comparison with synthetic polymers. Thus biological structural motifs present an attractive target for the synthesis of artificial nanoscale systems on the basis of relationships between sequence and supramolecular structure that have been established for native biological assemblies. In the present review, we describe an approach to the creation of structurally defined supramolecular assemblies derived from synthetic α-helical coiled-coil structural motifs. Two distinct challenges are encountered in this approach to materials design: the ability to recode the canonical sequences of native coiled-coil structural motifs to accommodate the formation of structurally defined supramolecular assemblies (e.g. synthetic helical fibrils) and the development of methods to control supramolecular self-assembly of these peptide-based materials under defined conditions that would be amenable to conventional processing methods. In the present review, we focus on the development of mechanisms based on guest–host recognition to control fibril assembly/disassembly. This strategy utilizes the latent structural specificity encoded within sequence-defined peptides to couple a conformational transition within the coiled-coil motifs to incremental changes in environmental conditions. The example of a selective metal-ion-induced conformational switch will be employed to validate the design principles.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
August 2009
-
Cover Image
Cover Image
- PDF Icon PDF LinkFront Matter
- PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of Contents
Conference Article|
July 22 2009
Engineering responsive mechanisms to control the assembly of peptide-based nanostructures
Steven Dublin;
Steven Dublin
1Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, U.S.A.
Search for other works by this author on:
Yuri Zimenkov;
Yuri Zimenkov
1Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, U.S.A.
Search for other works by this author on:
Vincent P. Conticello
Vincent P. Conticello
1
1Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, U.S.A.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email vcontic@emory.edu).
Search for other works by this author on:
Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
April 04 2009
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Biochemical Society
2009
Biochem Soc Trans (2009) 37 (4): 653–659.
Article history
Received:
April 04 2009
Citation
Steven Dublin, Yuri Zimenkov, Vincent P. Conticello; Engineering responsive mechanisms to control the assembly of peptide-based nanostructures. Biochem Soc Trans 1 August 2009; 37 (4): 653–659. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0370653
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign in to your personal account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Captcha Validation Error. Please try again.