Research
Our group aims to provide fundamental insights and innovative solutions in the design of bioinspired materials, leveraging soft matter systems ranging from polymers and recombinantly engineered proteins to living cells.
Our overarching goal is to develop cutting-edge material platforms that replicate or enhance the sophisticated functions of living organisms.
This is achieved through a deep understanding and precise control of intermolecular interactions and cell-material dynamics at the interface.
Our current research focuses on the development of synthetic cells for therapeutic and biocatalytic applications, antibacterial thin film engineering, and the manipulation of electrocatalytically active biofilms.
SYNTHETIC CELL PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT BY ENGINEERING GLOBULAR PROTEIN VESICLES
This project aims to create minimal synthetic cells with recombinantly engineered fusion proteins that can self-assemble into a vesicle – an essential cell structure. This project seeks to understand how functional recombinant fusion proteins can self-assemble into a vesicle in an aqueous solution, what drives the ordered phase separation of different proteins at membranes, and how we can engineer the functional properties of protein-assembled vesicles toward synthetic cells.
Our research focuses on the design and engineering of protein-based vesicles with advanced functionalities. Key areas of exploration include:
Multicompartmentalized Protein Vesicles – Developing vesicles capable of orchestrating controlled enzymatic cascade reactions.
Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Integration – Embedding protein synthesis machinery within vesicles to enable self-constitution and autonomous growth.
Expanding Protein Building Block Libraries – Engineering orthogonal signal transduction systems by diversifying protein-based molecular components.
Protein-Protein Interaction Dynamics – Investigating how proteins interact within fluid vesicle membranes to understand and harness dynamic biomolecular processes.
Versatile Signal-Binding Protein Vesicles for Immunotherapy – Designing vesicles with tunable molecular recognition capabilities for targeted therapeutic applications.
FUNCTIONAL NANO-STRUCTURED FILMS FOR CELL FATE CONTROL
We develop functional thin films and coatings to control cell fate on the surfaces. We precisely control the surface structure, chemistry, and mechanical properties of polymeric thin films to achieve target functionality to tailor cellular adhesion, proliferation, and death. Functional thin films have a variety of biomedical applications, such as stem cell co-culture platforms, antibacterial coatings, and drug release patches. Bacterial adhesion on medical implants and devices leads to serious infectious diseases. To address the human health issues from the growing number of drug-resistant bacteria, we have developed a new approach to creating bioinspired, bactericidal surfaces that can physically combat the initial adhesion of bacteria. This study encompasses nanofabrication and characterization methods of polymer surfaces and assessment of antibacterial performance, which applies to different polymeric materials used in various medical implants and devices.
