Peptide Engineering: From Fluorescent Biomarkers to Bioorthogonal Catalysts

Fluorescent proteins have become essential tools for bioimaging, but recent discoveries suggest that peptides lacking aromatic residues can also exhibit fluorescence. This phenomenon, termed clusteroluminescence, arises from the spatial confinement of electron-rich functional groups, leading to elec...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: González González, Carmen
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC)
Repositorio:Minerva. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:minerva.usc.gal:10347/42900
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42900
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:peptides
non-aromatic
fluorescence
bioorthogonal
catalysis
230224 Péptidos
230106 Fluorimetría
Descripción
Sumario:Fluorescent proteins have become essential tools for bioimaging, but recent discoveries suggest that peptides lacking aromatic residues can also exhibit fluorescence. This phenomenon, termed clusteroluminescence, arises from the spatial confinement of electron-rich functional groups, leading to electronic delocalization and the formation of emissive clusters. Understanding this mechanism can open new possibilities for non-aromatic fluorescent peptides as bioimaging tools. This project focuses on single alpha-helical peptides (SAHs), particularly the E-R/K alpha-helical motif, which consists of repeating anionic (Glu) and cationic (Lys/Arg) residues that stabilize the structure through salt bridges.