Super-size nanocages for protein encapsulation

• Applicant: Dr. Shuhe Wang
• Subject Area: Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation ; Organic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 561392432

This proposal aims to create large, stable metal-organic capsules by self-assembling simple subunits. These capsules, with the potential to bind biomacromolecules, can be applied in biomolecule purification, structural analysis, and enhancing protein stability in mixed aqueous-organic solvent systems. Previous research has developed a series of large capsules assembled from a single pentatopic pyrrole-based subcomponent. Building on these results, this project aims to create a series of new pyrrole-based ligands that can assemble into metal-organic capsules enclosing various large, well-defined cavities. These capsules will feature some of the most topologically complex synthetic architectures created to date, enabling them to adapt their structures to selectively bind specific biomacromolecule targets. The robustness of the capsules can be further enhanced by applying a post-assembly modification strategy that covalently caps the vertices. This new class of metal-organic capsules are predicted to have relatively large sizes, lower porosity, and high stability, making them applicable in enhancing the properties of enzymes or determining the structures of fragile proteins, such as membrane proteins. This research is expected to have a significant impact on fields such as molecular recognition, catalysis, materials sciences, and protein structure determination.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Host: Professor Dr. Jonathan R. Nitschke