H2020Индивидуална стипендия2020–2022

CYCLOTUBES · Artificial microtubules based on switchable cyclic peptides

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2020-04-05 → 2022-04-04
Финансиране от ЕС: 184 708 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Накратко на български

Изкуствени микротрубици от циклични пептиди се създават, за да имитират начина, по който клетъчните структури се сглобяват и разпадат чрез химическо „гориво“. Това ще помогне за по-дълбоко разбиране на естествените процеси в човешкото тяло.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Artificial microtubules based on switchable cyclic peptides

Natural systems from microscopic scale like bacteria to ultra big scales like river channels and mountain chains consist of very sophisticated designs and patterns marveling the human mind. The precision and efficiency of such natural systems has evolved over millions of years of error and rectification. Scientists always derive their inspiration from such complicated machineries present in nature and try to emulate the clockwork precision and functionalities present in biological systems to create useful artificial materials which could be beneficial for the humankind. We draw inspiration of from microscopic machineries in our cell which are able function with utmost precision and are vital for sustaining life. One such system are microtubules in our cell responsible for very important functions such as cell division and motility without which life cannot advance. Microtubules are long chains of smaller building blocks which only come together and assemble under certain conditions and dissociate when not required. Important characteristic of these systems is that they operate like any other sophisticated machinery where they only get transiently activated in presence of fuel(chemicals) which they use to do their work while producing waste and in absence of fuels they go dormant. They can continue doing this process for very prolonged period of time and thus sustain the vital functions in our cells. We term this process of fuel dependent activation and function as non-equilibrium self-assembly. We want to create such fuel dependent systems which can mimic naturally occurring machineries in our body and can grow, divide and disappear in response to the chemical signals given to them. This will allow much deeper understanding of natural processes occurring in our body while we might be able to use such precise functional life-like systems for many useful applications as mentioned before beneficial for the humankind.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Naturally occurring living materials, for e.g. the cell cytoskeleton, consist of intricate supramolecular polymers whose self-assembly is controlled by high energy molecules such as guanosine triphosphate GTP. MiNaturally occurring living materials, such as the cell cytoskeleton, consist of intricate supramolecular polymers whose self-assembly is controlled by high energy molecules such as guanosine triphosphate GTP. Microtubules for example, are incredibly strong, but because they are chemically fueled by GTP, they can be built up or broken down at specific times and locations inside the cell. The tubules are in so-called non-equilibrium steady states, and are kept away from the thermodynamic equilibrium for extended periods of time. In the recent years, artificial supramolecular polymers have been made that are transiently out-of-equilibrium by addition of a single shot of chemical fuel, or for long times by continuous addition of fuel and removal of waste. The mechanical properties of the latter artificial systems are quite poor in comparison with real microtubules. The aim of this CYCLOTUBES project is to make artificial microtubules from cyclic peptides that can chemically or enzymatically be switched between the assembled and disassembled state. To this end, we will use oxidation and reduction reactions in a cell-like environment, that is, in a membrane enclosed chamber. In the latter, chemical fuel can be added and waste be removed continuously. In addition, the assembly/disassembly of the artificial tubules can be monitored using microscopy. Our work will give fundamentally new insights into out-of-equilibrium self-assembly, and could lead to novel life-like materials that are capable of performing significant mechanical work due to the unique mechanical properties of the cyclic peptide tubules. The candidate will work at the forefront of the field of systems chemistry and supramolecular chemistry, which are very important for the competitiveness of Europe.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

UNIVERSITE DE STRASBOURG · StrasbourgКоординаторФранция