Federal Grant Award Summary

Iowa State University of Science and Technology received a $450,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Materials Research (CFDA 47.049 – Mathematical and Physical Sciences) awarded August 1, 2026, with completion expected July 31, 2029. The grant supports development of nanoparticle materials designed to function as chemical and biological tools for selective protein and peptide modification. The project creates water-compatible nanoparticles capable of recognizing short protein sequences with high selectivity and directing chemical reactions to specific amino acid sites on proteins. These synthetic materials are engineered to replicate the precision of natural protein-modifying enzymes, enabling researchers to attach chemical groups to proteins and join protein segments under mild conditions—capabilities not currently available through conventional methods.

The research deliverables have broad applications across biochemistry, cell biology, biotechnology, and protein therapeutics, including enhanced protein tracking in complex biological environments and development of improved protein-based materials and medicines. The grant incorporates significant workforce development and educational components, training student researchers in biomaterials science, biology, synthetic chemistry, and polymer chemistry, while supporting outreach activities focused on innovation and intellectual property. The work is performed at Iowa State University's facilities in Ames, Iowa, and is expected to democratize advanced protein modification techniques by making them accessible to researchers without specialized synthetic chemistry expertise.