Jennifer Sun is invited to present her paper, entitled “Design and characterization of coiled-coil protein fibers for metal templation,” at the 2013 Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Undergraduate Technical Paper Competition as a finalist (see abstract below). She is currently completing her final year at NYU-Poly as a B.S.+M.S. student in the Biomolecular Science Program.
[title size=”3″]Abstract[/title]
Research towards biomaterials has become increasingly popular, as scientists look for energy efficient alternatives to electronic components commonly used in medical and biological applications. Using protein-derived materials as electronic components, biological engineers are given design options that are easier and less expensive to achieve than using synthetic methods. In this project, our goal is to design and construct self-assembling protein fibers capable of metal nanoparticle templation. We have engineered two variants of the α-helical cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMPcc) to self-assemble longitudinally. Characterizations of these protein fibers are conducted using circular dichroism (CD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and fluorescence microscopy (FM). Additionally, confocal microscopy provides evidence that our protein fibers demonstrate small molecules binding capabilities, specifically to the small fluorescence molecule curcumin. The aim of our research is to functionalize protein nanowire materials as components of electronic devices with the ability to deliver the same level of functionality and effectiveness as their synthetic equivalents