Engineered nanoparticles provide a powerful scaffold for interfacing with proteins. The nanoparticle surface can be tailored to present recognition elements, providing surface complementarity to interact with protein surfaces. In this thesis, I have explored both the fundamental and the applied aspects of this interaction. On the fundamental side, I have co-engineered the nanoparticles and the proteins to generate robust dyads with strong binding affinity even at high salt concentration. Fluorescence titrations and docking studies were carried out to quantify the binding properties of the nanoparticles and proteins. Those studies revealed the prospect of tuning the affinity between the nanoparticles and proteins by co-engineering. On the application side, I have employed nanoparticle-protein interaction to fabricate self-assembled nanostructures to be used as intracellular protein delivery tools. In the first segment, nanoparticles and proteins were assembled to form nanoparticle stabilized capsules (NPSCs) for nuclear trafficking of proteins. The first non-peptide synthetic nuclear localization signal based on boronate was discovered, as well, using NPSC delivery platform. In the second segment, proteins and nanoparticles were co-engineered to self-assemble into hierarchical multi-layered nanostructures. These nanostructures were employed to deliver encapsulated proteins into cell cytosol, establishing a general strategy for protein delivery. Using this technology, I have delivered CRISPR/Cas9-ribonucleoprotein that resulted in highly efficient gene editing. Further, I have created an integrated nanotechnology/biology approach to engineer macrophages in vitro, thus, greatly enhancing their ability to phagocytose tumor cells, providing a new immunotherapeutic strategy for cancer therapy.

Peptide Self-Assembly and Engineering State-of-the-art research in peptide self-assembly, with coverage of fundamental aspects of how peptides self-assemble and an extensive number of applications Peptide Self-Assembly and Engineering: Fundamentals, Structures, and Applications (2V set) covers the latest progresses in the field of peptide self-assembly and engineering, including the fundamental principles of peptide self-assembly, new theory of nucleation and growth, thermodynamics and kinetics, materials design rules, and precisely controlled structures and unique functions. The broad contents from this book enable readers to obtain a systematical and comprehensive knowledge in the field of peptide self-assembly and engineering. Contributed by the leading scientists and edited by a highly qualified academic and an authority in the field, Peptide Self-Assembly and Engineering includes information on: Emerging areas in peptide assembly, such as immune agents, bioelectronics, energy conversion, flexible sensors, biomimetic catalysis, and more Existing applications in biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, and photoelectronics, including tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biosensing devices History of peptide self-assembly for design of functional materials and peptides’ unique mechanical, optical, electronic, and biological properties Various solvent conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, and polarity, that can affect the structure and stability of peptide assemblies A very comprehensive reference covering the latest progresses in the field of peptide self-assembly and engineering, Peptide Self-Assembly and Engineering is an essential resource for all scientists performing research intersecting with the subject, including biochemists, biotechnologists, pharmaceutical chemists, protein chemists, materials scientists, and medicinal chemists.

Direct cytoplasmic delivery of gene editing nucleases such CRISPR/Cas9 systems and therapeutic proteins provides enormous opportunities in curing human genetic diseases, and assist research in basic cell biology. One approach to attain such a goal is through engineering nanotechnological tools to mimic naturally existing intra- and extracellular protein delivery/transport systems. Nature builds transport systems for proteins and other biomolecules through evolution-derived sophisticated molecular engineering. Inspired by such natural assemblies, I employed molecular engineering approaches to fabricate self-assembled nanostructures to use as intracellular protein delivery tools. Briefly, proteins and gold nanoparticles were co-engineered to carry complementary electrostatic recognition elements. When these materials were mixed together, they formed highly sophisticated, multi-layered, and hierarchical self-assembled nanostructures of few hundred-nanometer size. These structures carried a large number of engineered proteins, got fused to cell membrane upon incubation, and delivered the encapsulated protein content directly into cell cytoplasm. Using this technology, we delivered a wide range of proteins, and CRISPR/Cas9-ribonucleoprotein that resulted high efficient gene editing.

Site-specific mutagenesis of DNA, developed some thirty years ago, has proven to be one of the most important advances in biology. By allowing the site-specific replacement of any amino acid in a protein with one of the other nineteen amino acids, it ushered in the new era of "Protein Engineering". The field of protein engineering has, however, evolved rapidly since then and the last fifteen years have witnessed remarkable advances through the use of new chemical, biochemical and molecular biological tools towards the synthesis and manipulation of proteins. The chapters included in this book reflect the rapid evolution of protein engineering and its many applications in basic research, biotechnology, material sciences and therapy. This book will provide the reader with an introduction to state-of the-art concepts and methods and will be of use to anyone interested in the study of proteins, in academia as well as in industry.

This book consists of 4 volumes containing about 70 chapters covering all the major aspects of the growing area of nanomedicine. Leading scientists from 15 countries cover all major areas of nanobiomedical research — materials for nanomedicine, application of nanomedicine in therapy of various diseases, use of nanomedicines for diagnostic purposes, technology of nanomedicines, and new trends in nanobiomedical research.This is the first detailed handbook specifically addressing various aspects of nanobiomedicine. Readers are treated to cutting-edge research and the newest data from leading researchers in this area.

Bionanomaterials are molecular materials composed partially or completely of biological molecules, key biological structures, such as proteins, enzymes, viruses, DNA, biopolymers as well as metal, metal oxides, and carbon nanomaterials with characteristic bioactivity. Bionanomaterials have drawn much attention for their use in a wide range of industrial applications from scaffolds, dental implants, drug delivery, dialysis, biobatteries, biofuel cells, air purification, and water treatment. Therefore, the intensive current research in this area is driven towards the designing and functionalization of bionanomaterials for industrial applications. Fundamentals of Bionanomaterials covers the fundamental aspects, experimental setup, synthesis, properties, and characterization of the different types of bionanomaterial. It discusses the different structure and unique properties of bionanomaterials that can be obtained by modifying their morphology and composition, highlighting a wide range of fabrication techniques of bionanomaterials and critical processing parameters. This is an important reference source for all those seeking to gain a solid understanding of the characterization, properties and processing a variety of bionanomaterial classes. Explains the major properties and characterization techniques for a range of bionanomaterial classes Discusses the commercialization of different types of bionanomaterials for a variety of industry sectors Highlights the challenges and interdisciplinary perspective of bionanomaterials in science, biology, engineering, medicine, and technology, incorporating both fundamentals and applications

Nanoscience or the science of the very small offers the pharmaceutical scientist a wealth of opportunities. By fabricating at the nanoscale, it is possible to exert unprecedented control on drug activity. This textbook will showcase a variety of nanosystems working from their design and construction to their application in the field of drug delivery. The book is intended for graduate students in drug delivery, physical and polymer chemistry, and applied pharmaceutical sciences courses that involve fundamental nanoscience. The purpose of the text is to present physicochemical and biomedical properties of synthetic polymers with an emphasis on their application in polymer therapeutics i.e., pharmaceutical nanosystems, drug delivery and biological performance. There are two main objectives of this text. The first is to provide advanced graduate students with knowledge of the principles of nanosystems and polymer science including synthesis, structure, and characterization of solution and solid state properties. The second is to describe the fundamentals of therapeutic applications of polymers in drug delivery, targeting, response modifiers as well as regulatory issues. The courses, often listed as Advanced Drug Delivery and Applied Pharmaceutics; Polymer Therapeutics; or Nanomedicine, are designed as an overview of the field specifically for graduate students in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Programs. However, the course content may also be of interest for graduate students in related biomedical research programs. These courses generally include a discussion of the major principles of polymer science and fundamental concepts of application of polymers as modern therapeutics. All courses are moving away from the above mentioned course names and going by ‘pharmaceutical nanoscience or nanosystems’. This area of research and technology development has attracted tremendous attention during the last two decades and it is expected that it will continue to grow in importance. However, the area is just emerging and courses are limited but they are offered.