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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

ECM Protein Nanofibers and Nanostructures Engineered Using Surface-initiated Assembly
Published on: April 17, 2014
Fiber recruiting peptides: noncovalent decoration of an engineered protein scaffold
Maxim G Ryadnov1, Derek N Woolfson
1Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer BN1 9QG, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Fiber Recruiting (FiRe) peptides are described. These are derivatives of self-assembling fiber (SAF) forming peptides that are conjugated with small molecules (in our case, biotin or a FLAG-tag octapeptide). The FiRe peptides are co-assembled into fibers and used as bait to recruit folded and functional proteins to the fiber surfaces. This was demonstrated using two molecular recognition models: namely, a protein-ligand interaction (biotin-streptavidin) and an antigen-antibody (FLAG octapeptide-anti-FLAG-antibody) interaction. This concept offers an approach to mimicking in natural fibrillar systems, such as collagen or fibrin, that communicate specifically with their environments via incorporated or decorated active peptide and protein components.
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