Programming supramolecular peptide materials for immunological applications

Abstract

Self-assembly of molecules can bring about disorder-to-order transition to give discrete structures at different length scales. Supramolecular chemistry, the chemistry of noncovalent interactions between molecules and/or ions, is key to advancing the field of self-assembly for molecular systems. Peptides are frequently used to construct supramolecular materials in which the non-covalent interactions are moderated through the backbone and side-chain interactions of the self-assembling peptides. Specific strategies to design and fabricate supramolecular peptide materials at different length scales have been extensively explored. However, many of these reported approaches are system-specific. Therefore, further understanding of the mechanisms underlying self-assembly is needed to devise more general engineering methodologies. The overarching aims of this doctoral thesis are 1) to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying peptide self-assembly to form hierarchical supramolecular structures and 2) to apply this knowledge to fabricate and characterize supramolecular peptide materials as vaccines to modulate the immune response in inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. Two approaches will be followed for this, including the use of (i) supramolecular nanofibers and (ii) molecular peptide vaccine/albumin supramolecular complexes. An immediate and long-term perspective on the further development of these supramolecular peptide materials is discussed in the final chapter.