This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports Dr. Michael Ogawa at Bowling Green State University to prepare metal-peptide nanostructures having a range of three-dimensional morphologies through: a) using non-crosslinked coiled-coils as the bridging unit, b) varying the coordination geometry of the central metal complexes, c) modifying the peptide sequence by incorporating electrostatic recognition domains to further orient the resulting assemblies, and d) utilizing trigonal coiled-coil architectures to serve as a tri-nuclear bridging ligand to produce a new class of two dimensional metal-peptide dendrimers. These studies embark upon an exploration of the two dimensions of structural diversity that are available to these metal-peptide assemblies: de novo designed peptide conformation and inorganic coordination geometry.
This research will assemble novel structures at the nanoscale utilizing principles of coordination chemistry and protein design. The PI participates in the BGSU Academic Investment in Math and Science (AIMS) program, which seeks to increase the number of women and students of color who graduate from BGSU with majors in mathematics, computer, and natural sciences.
