This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Project IV: Kiick Artificial Glycoproteins for Application in Materials Science and Biology Specific multivalent interactions between proteins and saccharides control the recognition processes involved in virus infection, tumor metastasis, and inflammatory responses. It is known that the identity of the saccharide, the nature of the template on which it is displayed, and the number of saccharides on the template are important variables in binding. However, purposeful design of polymeric materials to manipulate these interactions has been very difficult, since all chemically synthesized polymeric materials are heterogeneous in both molecular weight and composition. The production of glycopolymer scaffolds in which molecular weight, composition, and saccharide placement are controlled would therefore offer enormous advantages for designing materials capable of interacting with specific protein or cellular targets. In this project, we are employing protein engineering methods for the production of well-controlled polymeric architectures in which the precise placement of saccharides along a polymer chain can be realized. We have synthesized an initial set of approximately 10 helical and random coil protein polymers that contain chemically reactive glutamic acid groups at specified and varied positions. We have also efficiently derivatized these proteins with saccharides; strategies have involved amide bond formation between aminated saccharides and glutamic acid. We have conducted initial immunochemical assays of the binding of glycoslylated polypeptides of varying architectures to toxin targets, and preliminary results suggest a dependence of binding on architectural variables. Additional characterization of the conformational properties and binding affinities of these unique molecules is underway.
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