Project

Supramolecular structure-function relationships of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides

Code
31513313
Duration
01 January 2013 → 31 December 2015
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Macromolecular and materials chemistry
Keywords
peptides
 
Project description

Very little is known about the structure-function relationship of the class of antimicrobial peptides known as CLPs, short for cyclic lipodepsipeptides. Thanks to recently developed NMR methodology within our lab, we demonstrated that self-assembly of the CLP pseudodesmin A into larger supramolecular, pore-like structures, provides the structural basis to explain its biological activity. To further explore this proposition and provide a more quantitative measure of the relationship between assembly potential and biological activity, we propose to investigate naturally occurring CLPs from a wide diversity of sources with our newly developed approach. To isolate the various CLPs in sufficient quantities and purity for these structure-function investigations, the acquisition of optimized chromatographic equipment for preparative isolation and purification is proposed.