Biomolecular Engineering – Bioengineering

Model of a lasso peptide isopeptidase enzyme — The Link lab studies lasso peptides, a biological molecule known for being especially stable and resistant to damage. Shown here is a model of the structure of the enzyme that “unties” lasso peptides, called lasso peptide isopeptidase.

Biomolecular engineering is the analysis and engineering of small peptides, proteins, and macromolecular assemblies. Research in this field uses techniques from synthetic biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and cell biology to quantify and manipulate the three-dimensional structure and function of molecules with therapeutic importance.

Recent work:

Discovery and characterization of an isopeptidase that linearizes lasso peptides (Journal of the American Chemical Society)

Princeton University’s core faculty members in this area:

José L. Avalos
Michael Hecht
Jamie Link
Tom Muir
Bob Prud’homme