|
Welcome to...
|
The group is headed by Prof Dek Woolfson and is within the Biochemistry Department at the University of Sussex.
The main interests of the lab and are in (A) the self-assembly of peptide- and protein-based nanoscale structures, and (B) protein-small molecule recognition.
More specifically, our research has several themes: (1) in bioinformatics we are interested in how protein sequence relates to three-dimensional structure, i.e. we are interested in deciphering rules for protein folding. (2) We use and test our understanding of sequence-to-structure relationships in protein design to engineer new protein structures. Specifically, we are interested understanding and using small protein-folding motifs like the alpha-helical coiled coil and beta-hairpins. (3) We are also interested in applying our designs in the emerging field of bionanotechnology. In particular, we are attempting designs for self-assembling peptide fibres and matrices and conformational switches. (4) One specific area in which we are looking to pursue applications is cell and tissue engineering, where, with collaborators, we are attempting to make peptide-based scaffolds to substitute for extracellular matrices and, so, promote and direct cell and tissue growth in culture. (5) Finally, with the Prof. Steve Caddick (Chemistry, UCL) we are redesigning a small molecule-protein interface in an attempt to engineer new drug-delivery and sensing systems. The protein that we are targeting in this work is neocarzinostatin from Streptomyces.
The lab uses both computational and experimental method in these studies. On the experimental side we use a wide variety of techniques from peptide synthesis, molecular and cell biology through to molecular biophysics including spectroscopy and microscopy.
Protein Design Group, Department of Biochemistry, John Maynard Smith
Building, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG,
UK.
Tel: +44 (0)1273 872748 (lab) / 678214 (Dek Woolfson)
This site is managed by Marryat Stevens Please pass on any problems, comments or suggestions. Click here if you can't see any navigation buttons.
