Assembly Mechanism of Hierarchical Conical-Spiral and Helical Architectures

Assembly Mechanism of Hierarchical Conical-Spiral and Helical Architectures

Self-assembly is a ubiquitous process in synthetic and biological systems, broadly defined as the spontaneous organization of multiple subunits (macromolecules, particles, etc.) into ordered multiunit structures. The assemblies bridge between the size-scales of molecules (nanometers or less) to size-scales relevant for controlling material properties (microns and beyond).

Hierarchical self-assembly and shape-selection are fundamental to many fields including biology, nanotechnology, nanomedicine, colloid, and material sciences. They attract much interest from theoreticians and experimentalist for decades.

We propose to determine the formation mechanism of unconventional biomaterials that self-assemble from tubulin protein and polyamines into conical spiral subunits. The conical spirals can assemble into tubules and, under the right conditions transition into helical structure. These biomaterials exploit specific, directional, tunable, and reversible non-covalent weak interactions. We will control the structure of these materials by modulating the conformation of the building block and/or the interactions between subunits. The reversible nature of the interactions between subunits, gives rise to structural and functional flexibility.

We will integrate advanced X-ray and electron microscopy methods to resolve the high-resolution structure and formation mechanism of our novel self-assembled structures.

This type of biomaterials may have applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and immunology, and may contribute to the development of new therapies that combine highly functional materials, tailored for specific applications.