Project Grant 2203929

This $525,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry, under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049), will fund research at New York University from June 2022 to May 2025 to develop synthetic analogs of the small protein ubiquitin using block copolymers. Professor Marcus Weck will employ innovative design principles to fold and assemble artificial versions of ubiquitin through the use of folding synthetic polymers with protein-like sequences and secondary structures. Two distinct strategies will be used to emulate ubiquitin's main structural elements and sequences of secondary structures. Poly(aryl isocyanide)s and poly(p-phenylene vinylene)s will be prepared as structural analogs through polymerization techniques including RAFT, ROMP, and PD-alkyne initiated living polymerization of isocyanides. Characterization of the folded protein-like architectures will further the understanding of noncovalent interactions in synthetic polymer folding and the properties of resulting nanostructures. Outreach activities are also planned to expose underrepresented groups to materials chemistry career opportunities.