Research, pursued with purpose.

01

BioPACIFIC MIP

Materials Innovation Platform | About 200 hours

My first project is to create a 100mer peptoid, a chain of one hundred synthetic building blocks called peptoids. Peptoids mimic natural peptides, but they are more stable and easier to control, which makes them useful for studying how complex molecules fold and interact. To build the full chain, we join shorter 20mer peptoids together using click reactions, reliable chemical reactions that snap two molecular pieces together cleanly and efficiently. We use two main types: sulfamoyl clicks and copper-catalyzed clicks.

The shorter 20mer peptoids are made on a solid resin support using an automated synthesizer, which adds one building block at a time in a controlled way. After synthesis, the peptoids are removed from the resin through cleavage and purified using techniques like Biotage purification, which separates molecules by size and charge. Other tools I have used include a rotovap (removes solvents gently), a lyophilizer (freeze-dries samples for stable storage), and a Genevac (speeds up solvent removal).

This work could matter for medicine in two ways. The first is drug scaffolding: peptoids can be designed to carry or stabilize medicines, helping treatments reach the right place in the body. The second is biomarkers, molecules that reveal what is happening inside a patient, such as whether a disease is present or progressing. Both connect directly to my goal of increasing access to care while reducing treatment costs, because better-designed molecules and clearer diagnostics can make therapies more targeted and affordable.

Soon, I hope to link the paper written for this project so readers can review the methods and results in full.