Biomaterials – proteins articles within Nature Chemistry

Featured

  • Article |

    A chemoenzymatic method to site-specifically conjugate peptide and protein thioesters to folded proteins at lysine residues has been developed. The method uses a genetically encoded four-residue tag that is recognized by the E2 SUMO-conjugating enzyme Ubc9. This approach enables isopeptide formation with just Ubc9 in a programmable manner and obviates the need for E1 and E3 enzymes.

    • Raphael Hofmann
    • , Gaku Akimoto
    •  & Jeffrey W. Bode

  • Article |

    The preparation of conjugates between proteins and small molecules is often challenging and requires several synthetic steps to functionalize each component for conjugation. Now, a conjugation methodology that leverages an electrophilic Se–S bond of selenocysteine to create bioconjugates between polypeptides and complex small molecules has been described.

    • Daniel T. Cohen
    • , Chi Zhang
    •  & Bradley L. Pentelute

  • Article |

    A programmable model of membraneless organelles comprised of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) containing sequences of low complexity has now been developed. The rules governing the assembly of archetypal IDPs into biologically inspired mixed, layered and size-controlled configurations provides a new means for understanding intracellular phase behaviour of IDPs.

    • Joseph R. Simon
    • , Nick J. Carroll
    •  & Gabriel P. López

  • Article |

    Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is crucial for a range of diverse cellular processes, from wound healing to bone regeneration, yet is inherently unstable. This important biologic has now been covalently linked to a polymer that mimics the polysaccharide heparin to produce a conjugate that shows remarkable stability to a wide range of therapeutically and environmentally relevant stressors.

    • Thi H. Nguyen
    • , Sung-Hye Kim
    •  & Heather D. Maynard

  • News & Views |

    The combination of addressable synthetic macromolecules with proteins of precise structure and function often leads to materials with unique properties, as is now shown by the efficient multi-site initiation of polymer growth inside the cavity of a virus capsid.

    • Jeroen J. L. M. Cornelissen

Browse broader subjects

Browse Biomaterials – proteins across other nature.com journals