Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 16, 2026

08:07
A Micropatterning Assay for Measuring Cell Chirality
Published on: March 11, 2022
2.7K
Stereocontrolled protein surface recognition using chiral oligoamide proteomimetic foldamers
Valeria Azzarito1,2, Jennifer A Miles1,2, Julie Fisher1
1School of Chemistry , University of Leeds , Woodhouse Lane , Leeds , LS2 9JT , UK .
Chemical Science
|January 9, 2018
Summary
Researchers developed a novel oligoamide foldamer for selective protein recognition. This foldamer inhibits the protein-protein interaction between human double minute 2 (hDM2) and p53, demonstrating potential for targeted molecular therapies.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular chemical biology
- Protein-protein interaction inhibition
- Foldamer design
Background:
- Selective molecular recognition of protein surfaces is a key challenge.
- Oligoamide foldamers offer potential for precise molecular interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and characterize an information-rich oligoamide foldamer.
- To investigate the foldamer's ability to recognize and inhibit the p53/hDM2 interaction.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of a conformationally defined oligoamide foldamer.
- Assessment of protein recognition and inhibition of protein-protein interactions.
- Evaluation of functional group effects (composition, spatial projection, stereochemistry) on inhibition.
Main Results:
- The oligoamide foldamer selectively recognizes the target protein hDM2.
- The foldamer inhibits the p53/hDM2 protein-protein interaction.
- Inhibition selectivity against other targets, including Mcl-1/NOXA-B, is dependent on foldamer stereochemistry.
Conclusions:
- Oligoamide foldamers can be designed for selective protein surface recognition.
- Stereochemistry of the foldamer is critical for achieving selective inhibition of specific protein-protein interactions.
- This approach holds promise for developing targeted therapeutics in chemical biology.
Related Concept Videos
Chirality
29.8K
Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
Chiral objects exhibit a sense of handedness when they interact with another chiral object. For example, our left foot can only fit in the left shoe and not in the right shoe. Achiral objects — objects that have...
29.8K
Chirality in Nature
17.3K
Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid.
17.3K
Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
7.1K
Chirality is most prevalent in carbon-based tetrahedral compounds, but this important facet of molecular symmetry extends to sp3-hybridized nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur centers, including trivalent molecules with lone pairs. Here, the lone pair behaves as a functional group in addition to the other three substituents to form an analogous tetrahedral center that can be chiral.
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
7.1K
Molecules with Multiple Chiral Centers
15.2K
Molecules that possess multiple chiral centers can afford a large number of stereoisomers. For instance, while some molecules like 2-butanol have one chiral center, defined as a tetrahedral carbon atom with four different substituents attached, several molecules like butane-2,3-diol have multiple chiral centers. A simple formula to predict the number of stereoisomers possible for a molecule with n chiral centers is 2n. However, there can be a lower number where some of the stereoisomers are...
15.2K
Surface Tension and Surface Energy
3.3K
When a paint brush is immersed in water, the bristles wave freely inside the water. When it is taken out, the bristles stick together. The reason behind this effect is surface tension.
Consider a beaker filled with liquid. The bulk molecules in the liquid experience equal attractive forces on all sides with the surrounding molecules. However, the surface molecules experience a net attractive force downward due to the bulk molecules. The surface of the liquid behaves like a stretched membrane,...
Consider a beaker filled with liquid. The bulk molecules in the liquid experience equal attractive forces on all sides with the surrounding molecules. However, the surface molecules experience a net attractive force downward due to the bulk molecules. The surface of the liquid behaves like a stretched membrane,...
3.3K
Cell-surface Signaling
54.9K
Hormones—or any molecule that binds to a receptor, known as a ligand—that are lipid-insoluble (water-soluble) are not able to diffuse across the cell membrane. In order to be able to affect a cell without entering it, these hormones bind to receptors on the cell membrane. When a first messenger, a hormone, binds to a receptor, a signal cascade is set off, causing second messengers, proteins inside the cell, to become activated, resulting in downstream effects.
54.9K

