Protein engineering therapeutic strategies and tools
Date
2019
Authors
Ta, Angeline Ngoc, author
Snow, Christopher, advisor
Henry, Chuck, committee member
Kennan, Alan, committee member
Stasevich, Tim, committee member
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Abstract
Proteins have become an important tool for research development and therapeutics. Proteins complement the use of small molecules as well as overcome challenges that small molecules cannot. The contrasting difference of their diverse functional and structural properties allows for complex processes like molecular recognition and catalysis. Through loops, turns, helixes, and sheets, these structural motifs provide a protein with shape and electrostatics to achieve a particular function. Overall, I describe here two examples of functional proteins where the protein's complex structure plays an important role in the development of new strategies and tools for therapeutics. The first part of this dissertation shows the effects of increased antibody recruitment on targeted cell death through the use of an immunotherapeutic cocktail of cell surface HER2 receptor binding proteins. The second part of this dissertation describes the use of a protein's chiral environment to develop a new artificial metalloenzyme that selectively catalyses synthesis of the most common N-heterocycle found in FDA approved pharmaceuticals.
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Subject
catalysis
protein engineering
immunotherapy
artificial metalloenzymes