With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program is supporting Professor Hyun-Suk Lim, of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Indiana University School of Medicine to develop new modulators of protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Such PPI modulators are in high demand in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry today. The approach taken here involves the design, synthesis and evaluation of conformationally constrained aryl-bridged cyclic/bicyclic peptoids bearing helix-mimetic segments. Design features include relatively large size, a high structural diversity, and increased conformational rigidity, all features expected to promote binding to large and non-contiguous protein interfaces Compared to conventional peptides, these cyclic peptoid scaffolds are expected to display improved aqueous solubility, excellent cell permeability and be easily accessed synthetically.
This project will exposed graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to multidisciplinary chemical biology environment with a notable synthetic component. The project will also provide training opportunity to undergraduate students at Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) through the Life Health Science Internship (LHSI) program. In addition, underrepresented minority students supported by IUPUI Graduate Office will be involved. Professor Lim will also participate in "Distributed Drug Discovery" (D3) program led by IUPUI to incorporate undergraduate education into the search for drug leads for neglected diseases.
