carolyn bertozzi – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Folding Funnels Key to Biomimicry

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2012Scienceafm, archaea, array, atomic force microscopy, babak sanii, bacteria, berkeley lab, biomimicry, biomolecular nanomachines, bones, carolyn bertozzi, cell, collagen matrices, collagen monomers, concept, fabrication, folding funnel, free energy, function, humans, jim deyoreo, key, kinetic traps, luis comolli, mica surface, molecular foundry, molecule level, molecules, multiple proteins, nanoscale synthesis, Nature, ordered structure, organic scaffolds, properties, protein folding, protein structure, proteins, pseudohexagonal symmetry, s layer, self assemble, seong ho shin, sungwook chung, surface layer, teeth

Berkeley Lab Finding that Protein Folding Funnels Also Apply to Self-Assembly Should Benefit Biomimicry and Nanosynthesis

Proteins are able to self-assemble into a wide range of highly ordered structures that feature a diverse array of properties. Through biomimicry – technological innovation inspired by nature – humans hope to emulate proteins and produce our own version of self-assembling molecules. A key to accomplishing this is understanding how protein-folding – a process critical to the form and function of a protein – is extended from individual proteins to complex assemblies.

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have now shown that a concept widely accepted as describing the folding of a single individual protein is also applicable to the self-assembly of multiple proteins. Their findings provide important guidelines for future biomimicry efforts, particularly for device fabrication and nanoscale synthesis. (more…)

Exciting New Field of Bioorthogonal Chemistry Owes a Debt to Curiosity-Driven Research from Previous Eras

By Guest PostApril 11, 2012Scienceacs, aza ylide, azide, berkeley lab, biomolecule, bioorthogonal chemistry, carolyn bertozzi, cell, difluorinated cyclotoctyne, difo, dipolar cycloaddition, fluorophore, german chemist, glycans, glycoproteins, hhmi, immune system, irmgard chu, kavli foundation, organism, san diego, toxic

*Carolyn Bertozzi’s Kavli Lecture Highlights Promise of Biorothogonal Chemistry and Its Links to Basic Research From the Past*

“Bioorthogonal chemistry is literally chemistry for life,” said Carolyn Bertozzi, an internationally acclaimed leader and founder of this emerging and highly promising field of science that could fundamentally change drug development and disease diagnostics. In delivering the Kavli Foundation Innovations in Chemistry Lecture at this year’s Spring Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in San Diego, Bertozzi described how her own ground-breaking research made use of experiments nearly a century ago by two German chemists whose work was driven primarily by scientific curiosity as opposed to the more problem-driven research of today.

Bertozzi is a senior faculty scientist with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the T.Z. and Irmgard Chu Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California (UC) Berkeley. She is also an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The Kavli Foundation is a philanthropic organization that supports basic scientific research. Its ACS lectures are designed to address “the urgent need for vigorous, outside the box thinking by scientists.” (more…)

Tag Archives: carolyn bertozzi

Folding Funnels Key to Biomimicry

Exciting New Field of Bioorthogonal Chemistry Owes a Debt to Curiosity-Driven Research from Previous Eras