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Hartgerink Research Group

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Supramolecular chemistry is an emerging sub-discipline of chemistry that primarily concerns itself with non-covalent, intermolecular interactions. These relatively weak forces are used in large number to create nanometer sized objects in a massively parallel fashion. The inspiration for this area of research comes primarily from advances in our understanding of biological systems and the miraculous structures found therein. Recently, great strides have been made to mimic both the structures found in biological systems and the approaches that biology uses to create these structures. Our lab uses these non-covalent interactions to direct the self-assembly of novel nanostructured materials. These materials are typically prepared from peptides or peptide derivatives which makes them quick and easy to synthesize. Applications for these materials are diverse. Current projects in our lab include:

  • Synthetic collagen mimics and amphiphilic peptides as bioactive, nanostructured materials for tissue engineering, tissue regeneration and drug delivery. This project uses advanced nanostructured materials to direct the growth and differentiation of a variety of different types of stem cells. The long term goal of this project is the regeneration of entire tissues and organs.
  • Application of self-assembled organic materials as templates for the controlled mineralization of inorganics. These composite materials will be used for catalysis and sensing.
  • The self-assembly of nanofibrous alpha-helical coiled-coils as a versatile nanostructured scaffold.
  • Conversion of alpha-helices to amyloid-like beta sheets and their resulting structure. This is important both in the study of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, "Mad Cow" etc.) as well as a scaffolding for nanostructure design.
  • Study of the novel enhanced raman and IR spectra of peptides in conjugation with Gold Nanoshells.
  • Design of peptides which bind to the HOX/PBX transcription complex to inhibit cancer growth.
  • Design and synthesis of peptides which bind to carbon nanotubes to provide solubility and chemical functionality.

Selected Publications from 2008 & 2009:

L. Aulisa, H. Dong and J. D. Hartgerink "Self-Assembly of Multidomain Peptides: Sequence Variation Allows Control over Cross-Linking and Viscoelasticity" Biomacromolecules, available online.
J. A. Fallas, V. Gauba and J. D. Hartgerink "Solution structure of an ABC collagen heterotrimer reveals a single-register helix stabilized by electrostatic interactions" J. Biol. Chem., available online.
E. L. Bakota, L. Aulisa, D. A. Tsyboulski, R. B. Weisman and J. D. Hartgerink " Multidomain Peptides as Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Surfactants in Cell Culture" Biomacromolecules, available online.
L. Aulisa, N. Forraz, C. McGuckin, J. D. Hartgerink "Inhibition of Cancer Cell Proliferation by Designed Peptide-Amphiphiles" Acta Biomaterialia 5, 842-853 (2009).
D. Tsyboulski, E. Bakota, L. Witus, J-D. Rocha, J. D. Hartgerink, B. R. Weisman "Self-Assembling Peptide Coatings Designed for Highly Luminescent Suspensions of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 17134-17140 (2008).
H. Dong, S. E. Paramonov and J. D. Hartgerink "Self-assembly of alpha-helica coiled-coil nanofibers" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 13691-13695 (2008)..
K. M. Galler, A. Cavender, V. Yuwono, H. Dong, S. Shi, G. Schmalz, J. D. Hartgerink and R. N. D'Souza "Self-Assembling Peptide Amphiphile Nanofibers as a Scaffold for Dental Stem Cells" Tissue Eng. 14, 2051-2058 (2008).
F. Wei, D. Zhang, N. J. Halas and J. D. Hartgerink "Aromatic amino acids provide characteristic motifs in the Raman and SERS spectroscopy of Peptides" J. Phys. Chem. 113, 9158-9164 (2008).
V. Gauba and J. D. Hartgerink "Synthetic Collagen Heterotrimers: Structural Mimics of Wild Type and Mutant Collagen Type I" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130 7509-7515 (2008). Highlighted in Nature "News & Views" 453 998-999 (2008).
H-W. Jun, S. E. Paramonov, H. Dong, N. Forraz, C. McGuckin, and J. D. Hartgerink "Tuning the mechanical and bioresponsive properties of peptide-amphiphile nanofiber networks" J. Biomater. Sci. Polymer Edn. 19, 665-676 (2008).
W. C. Pomerantz, V. M. Yuwono, C. L. Pizzey, J. D. Hartgerink, N. L. Abbott, S. H. Gellman, "Nanofibers and Lyotropic Liquid Crystals from a Class of Self-Assembling Beta-Peptides" Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 47, 1241-1244 (2008).