This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This research project focuses on a new mechanical design, analysis and simulation framework for protein molecules. The fact that proteins are nano devices developed through evolution by nature suggests that the development of biomimetic artificial nano machines based on polypeptide chain building blocks is not only promising, but may also be the most practical approach to meet these challenges. This project continues the recent developments under an NSF Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) and builds on a numerical modeling platform called 'PROTOFOLD' developed by the research team. The project will make use of mechanical analysis and design tools to accurately model protein molecules as mechanical devices, hence facilitating understanding of their function or ability to design and manipulate protein based molecular devices for specific functional purposes. The multi-disciplinary research team includes expertise in engineering, biology and pharmacology and will validate the proposed analytical tools and benchmark them in practical applications including nano-material, vaccine and drug design.
If successful, the proposed research will provide the ability to develop devices of increasing sophistication at the nano level, capable of acting as sensors, or carrying out more complex tasks. The broader impacts of this project range from proteomics, medicine, and rational drug design to biocomputers, bio robots, and biosensors. The interdisciplinary nature of this project will also have substantial educational impact on the students that will be supported through this program as well as on other graduate and undergraduate students through the proposed modules in mechanics of peptide based nano systems to be included in four separate courses. The outreach activities of this program include outreach to K-12 classrooms through the infrastructure already in place, and to the general public through the science museum in Hartford.
