Protein de novo Design

Abstract

The ultimate goal in protein de novo design is the construction of artificial proteins exhibiting tailor-made structural and functional properties. To create native-like macromolecules in copying nature's way has proven to be difficult because the mechanism of folding in its complexity has yet to be unraveled. In order to bypass the well-known folding problem, we have developed the concept of template assembled synthetic proteins (TASP); this meanwhile widely accepted strategy uses topological templates as 'built-in' devices for the induction of well-defined folding topologies. Progress in synthetic strategies, e.g., chemoselective ligation methods and orthogonal protection techniques open the way for the design of more complex TASP molecules featuring functional properties such as membrane channels, vaccines, catalysts, receptors, or ligands.