Project Grant R01GM164512

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the University of South Carolina $320,914 on August 1, 2026, under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859) to support research on the evolution of facial amphiphilicity toward alternating copolymers as antimicrobial biomaterials.

The funded research investigates the design of synthetic macromolecules—specifically alternating copolymers and synthetic polypeptides—that replicate facial amphiphilicity (the separation of polar and nonpolar domains) to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria. The project addresses challenges in maintaining sequence control and structural integrity in synthetic polymers by engineering macromolecules that fold into distinct, phase-segregated faces in aqueous environments. The designed polymers are intended to selectively target bacterial cells and penetrate biofilms while minimizing cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells, creating safer antimicrobial therapeutic candidates.

Work is performed at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, with a performance period extending from August 1, 2026, through March 30, 2030. This is a Project Grant, the standard R01 mechanism under the NIGMS program, which supports investigator-initiated basic biomedical research advancing understanding of biological processes and disease prevention.