Functional bioresponsive nanomaterials for medicine

In bionanotechnology, a new and rapidly growing field of research, biomolecules or synthetic biomolecular mimics are explored as supramolecular building blocks for fabrication of novel materials for medicine. When combined with inorganic or synthetic organic nanomaterials, complex hybrid materials and multifunctional devices can be obtained. The most promising strategies for fabrication of molecular hybrid materials with a defined nanoscale spatial organization and controlled chemical composition are based on self-assembly.

Self-assembly can be defined as the reversible association of preformed discrete building blocks into more complex and ordered architectures without any outer guidance. The information driving the organization must be built in to the system and into the building blocks themselves. The process can either occur as a result of free energy minimization, leading to an equilibrium state, or as a result of energy dissipation. By judicious design of the components, the assembly and disassembly of materials can be controlled by physicochemical parameters, such as pH, ionic strength and temperature, or in response to enzymatic or cellular activity. This dynamic and often reversible behaviour is a key feature in the design of nanomaterials for biosensing and controlled drug release and is of large interest for development of novel biomaterials for regenerative medicine.

My research is focused on the design and development of new nanoscale components for fabrication of functional materials by self-assembly. In addition to study fundamental self-assembly processes, the applications of these materials in diagnostics, triggered drug release and regenerative medicine are explored.
 

Left: Polypeptide-functionalized gold nanoparticles. The peptides trigger a folding-mediated bridging aggregation of the nanoparticles. Right: Non-linear polypeptides that self-assemble into nanofibers as a result of a progagating folding-dependent heteroasscoaition.