Building structurally defined protein nanoscaffolds

The aim of the project is to construct molecular assemblies that display proteins on a nucleic acids scaffold with nanometer accuracy. Using this setup, we will study multivalent receptor activation and self-recognition in cancer cells and in the immune system. Multivalent recognition of disease markers will allow early recognition of malignancies and improve targeting of medicine in cancer, neurodegenerative- and cardiovascular diseases. The infrastructure grant will be used to buy a fermentor that allows us to scale up protein production to the levels required for testing the functionalized nanoscaffolds in vivo. In addition, the device can be used to grow bacteria producing any protein of interest and will therefore be valuable for a range of projects in the lab and at iNANO in general.