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DESign of enzyme-InspiREd multivalent catalysts through functional patterning of nanosystems

Project description

Nanotechnology-based artificial enzymes

Artificial enzymes are synthetic catalysts that imitate the activity of natural enzymes and have a number of advantages such as high stability and low cost. They have emerged as attractive alternatives to natural enzymes because they can be engineered to function under specific conditions and portray substrate versatility. To enhance the catalytic performance and selectivity of artificial enzymes, the EU-funded DESIRE project proposes to develop a system that utilises peptides on the surface of metal nanoparticles. This bioconjugation introduces more functionalities as well as areas that mimic the active region of enzymes, leading to higher efficiency and selectivity.

Objective

Developing artificial enzyme mimics represents a promising strategy to overcome some of the limitations of enzymes such as low tolerance to experimental conditions, poor substrate versatility or poor adaptability to abiotic reactions. Supramolecular approaches to creating organized ensembles of molecules allowed for constructing enzyme-mimicking assemblies displaying collective properties in terms of affinity and reactivity. Despite these advances some critical challenges, such as achieving synergy between multiple functional and structural components to enhance the catalytic performance and selectivity of artificial enzyme-mimics, remain untackled. Self‐assembly of peptides on the surface of metal nanoparticles has recently emerged as a powerful strategy towards creating arrays of functional groups in a defined geometry and space. This strategy provides the opportunity to induce cooperativity between the functionalities in the assembly which would be a highly sought for property in an enzyme-mimicking system. The proposed DESIRE project aims at developing new enzyme-mimicking assemblies where a supramolecular approach is used to preorganise simple catalytic units in order to achieve enzyme-like efficiency and selectivity. The designed enzyme-inspired multivalent catalysts will be obtained by a fine-tuning involving orientation, local hydrophobicity and spatial proximity of amino acids and short peptide ligands which coated on the surface of monolayer-protected nanoparticles or embedded within functional polymers. This should allow to create hydrophobic regions decorated with catalytic moieties in the nanostructures reminiscent of the catalytic pockets in enzymes. The catalytic performance of the constructed systems will be evaluated in selected chemical transformations: aldol reaction and cleavage of ester bonds.

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 191 149,44
Address
Raemistrasse 101
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland

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Region
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 191 149,44
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