Project description
Engineered nanopores control transport via helical tags
Membranes are characteristic features of eukaryotic cells, serving to compartmentalise and control essential functions and materials. Transmembrane transport of molecules is regulated very precisely via specialised pore-forming membrane proteins. Replicating this machinery remains a challenge. The ERC-funded ChiroPore project aims to address this with inspiration from nuclear pore complexes and helical peptides, structures crucial to biological functions and heavily researched in drug design. Nanoscale pores will be engineered from a variety of transmembrane peptide barrels and helical peptides using advanced ‘origami’. The pores will selectively recognise and admit only molecules carrying a matching helical tag. Success could open transformative new possibilities in targeted drug or gene delivery, biosensing, signalling and precise manipulation of cellular communication.
Objective
Membrane transport regulation is a sophisticated process only achieved by complex pore-forming membrane proteins. Controlling the transportation of bioactive molecules with high selectivity can pioneer a paradigm shift in the precision of membrane-related applications (e.g. drug and gene delivery, biosensing, signaling, metabolic activity manipulation, etc.).
Despite the research effort in membrane transport and significant advances in membrane pore engineering, a critical knowledge gap still hinders the development of pore technologies for high-selective membrane translocation processes. Inspired by the recognition mechanisms of transport-specialized membrane proteins, ChiroPore aims to fill this gap by using helical topologies as recognition patterns in nanopore-mediated membrane translocation for the first time.
Inspired by natural tagging recognition systems like nuclear nanopores, ChiroPore’s strategy consists of a two-component system in which matching helical topologies are used as recognition motifs, akin to bolt and nut complementarity. A variety of nuts (transmembrane peptide barrels) and bolts (helical peptides) designed with helical complementarities form the basis of a versatile multivalent key-lock system for tag-selective membrane trespassing of bioactive cargo.
I will synergistically combine the advantages of existing membrane nanopore engineering strategies into a novel peptide assembly technology to construct membrane pores with precise internal topology. I propose introducing a helical peptide nucleic acid (α-PNA) origami to synthesize membrane-spanning barrels capable of displaying an array of helical topologies.
Overall, ChiroPore technology proposes a tag-selective supramolecular membrane transport system that utilizes macromolecular chirality as a recognition motif. This system will contribute to progress toward high-precision delivery, sensing, and communication applications at the cellular level.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- engineering and technology medical engineering
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology biosensing
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules nucleic acids
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology cell signaling
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
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
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.
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-2025-COG
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15782 Santiago De Compostela
Spain
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