Program Manager: Dr. Mildred Donlon
The Control of Protein Conformations (CPC) Program will develop tools that enable real-time control and manipulation of single protein conformations so that the functional characteristics of the protein can be tuned or optimized. Real-time control of protein conformation will enable the development of biosensors with tunable detection characteristics, and improved countermeasures for defense against chemical and biological attack.
The CPC Program goals will be achieved in two phases. The first phase will demonstrate the ability to modulate the functional characteristics of a single protein through controlled changes in single protein conformation. The proposed second phase will demonstrate that real-time control of protein conformation can be incorporated into novel methodologies for the detection of chemical or biological threat agents.
Basic science breakthroughs in this program will significantly improve our understanding of the relationship between protein structure and function, and create a new paradigm for sensors and therapeutics that employ real-time control of conformation and therefore biological activity.
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