Project description
Next generation of microreactors
Cells perform biocatalytic processes in organelles or membraneless compartments known as biomolecular condensates that form through liquid-liquid phase separation. The potential to synthesise biomolecular condensates has sparked great interest in the field of biotechnology. The ERC-funded CORE project aims to develop synthetic biomolecular condensates as microreactors by designing peptide libraries with tunable chemical compositions and study how condensate composition affects physical and material properties. The goal is to regulate organic reactions and drug synthesis within these engineered microenvironments, achieving collective catalytic capacity. This study will pave the way for sustainable, solvent-free drug synthesis using peptides as building blocks.
Objective
Living cells have evolved to provide subcellular microenvironments that accommodate and control specific (bio)catalytic processes. These compartments include membrane-bound and membraneless organelles, or biomolecular condensates. New breakthroughs in studying and characterizing cellular biomolecular condensates have facilitated researchers to design synthetic condensates that are formed by liquid-liquid phase separation of engineered proteins, polypeptides, peptides, or nucleic acids. Yet, a precise regulation of designed condensates properties and their utilization for nanobiotechnological applications remains a major challenge. I propose to utilize my expertise in peptide design to develop libraries of synthetic condensates with systematically tunable chemical composition using minimalistic LLPS-promoting peptide building blocks. I will analyze how the chemical composition of condensates affect their physical and material properties and harness this knowledge to regulate organic reactions and drug synthesis in engineered microenvironments and develop condensates with emergent collective catalytic capacity. The proposed research will elucidate how the chemical composition, physical, and material properties of designed condensates affect reaction rate, conversion, and condensate reactivity. The designed condensates will go beyond the state of the art of synthetic nano- and microreactors and provide the next generation of reaction regulation for sustainable drug synthesis in organic solvent-free, aqueous environment. These findings will pave the way to establish novel design principles for the fabrication of synthetic condensates from peptide building blocks with both ordered and disordered motifs, leading to precise controlling, and balancing of these motifs to regulate reactivity effectively. I expect that this research will promote the LLPS, self-assembly, and nanobiotechnology communities for the development of condensates for emerging nanotechnologies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- engineering and technology nanotechnology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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69978 Tel Aviv
Israel
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