A protein–foldamer supramolecular synthon for self-assembled hybrid architectures

Constructing artificial assemblies that combine proteins and synthetic ligands has been hampered by the lack of protein-ligand interfaces that are sufficiently large and organized to enable precise structural control. Here ribosome display selection is used to identify a protein that binds a helical aromatic foldamer both tightly and selectively through a sizeable surface area. We used this complex as a supramolecular synthon to create well-defined hybrid foldamer-protein architectures. Examples include foldamers that bind two proteins and hold them at a precise distance, proteins that bind two foldamers and crystals in which proteins and foldamers are connected in cyclic or infinite arrays. The modularity of aromatic foldamers brings a further dimension to protein-based assemblies.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Chemistry
Published
2026-08-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-026-02222-6
Primary Topic
Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

A protein–foldamer supramolecular synthon for self-assembled hybrid architectures

Eric Largy, Yann Ferrand, Kevin Pagel, Leo Candela et al.
Nature Chemistry
Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
article

A protein–foldamer supramolecular synthon for self-assembled hybrid architectures

Eric Largy, Yann Ferrand, Kevin Pagel, Leo Candela, Florian Sanchez, Ivan Huc, Nicklas Österlund, Niklas Geue, Simon Huet, Sunbum Kwon, Éric Merlet, Lingfei Wang, Vasily Morozov, Johannes Sigl, Celine Douat, Cameron D. Mackereth, Janine Sachs
article en

Abstract

Constructing artificial assemblies that combine proteins and synthetic ligands has been hampered by the lack of protein-ligand interfaces that are sufficiently large and organized to enable precise structural control. Here ribosome display selection is used to identify a protein that binds a helical aromatic foldamer both tightly and selectively through a sizeable surface area. We used this complex as a supramolecular synthon to create well-defined hybrid foldamer-protein architectures. Examples include foldamers that bind two proteins and hold them at a precise distance, proteins that bind two foldamers and crystals in which proteins and foldamers are connected in cyclic or infinite arrays. The modularity of aromatic foldamers brings a further dimension to protein-based assemblies.

Nature Chemistry
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Université de Bordeaux (FR), Inserm (FR), Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (DE), Bordeaux Population Health (FR), Chimie et Biologie des Membranes et des Nanoobjects (FR), Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux (FR), Acides nucléiques: Régulations naturelles et artificielles (FR), Chung-Ang University (KR), Freie Universität Berlin (DE), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Wenner-Gren Stiftelserna, Australian Government, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Freie Universität Berlin, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.