Using sequence data to predict the self-assembly of supramolecular collagen structures

Lennard-Jones Centre discussion group seminar by Dr Anna Puszkarska from AstraZeneca.

The pathway for protein self-assembly is determined by the free energy landscape coded in the noncovalent interactions between the building blocks. This talk describes the use of this basic principle to develop a model that describes the mechanisms involved in the staggering of collagen molecules in fibrillar assemblies. It presents a simple, parameter-free model for collagen fibril design that allows the prediction of the structure of self-assembling collagen fibers on the basis of the amino acid sequence of the constituent alpha-chain subunits. The talk also describes a classification algorithm and uses it to scan through large data sets of collagen molecules to predict the periodicity of the resulting assemblies. It is argued that, with this model, it becomes possible to design tailor-made, periodic collagen structures, thereby enabling the design of novel biomimetic materials based on collagen-mimetic trimers.

The seminar was held on 14th November 2022.

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