Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal researchers have invented a new technology that can deliver active molecules to specific sections of proteins. Scientists from IISER Bhopal have been conducting studies on the ‘engineering’ of protein molecules for the past few years. They have designed the first-ever modular platform for the precision engineering of proteins.

The research team from the Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences at IISER Bhopal includes Vishal Rai, Ram Kumar Mishra, Sanjeev Shukla, Srinivasa Rao Adusumalli, Dattatraya Gautam Rawale, and Neetu Kalra, among others who have worked on this novel research.

The development of their Linchpin Directed Modification (LDM) platform has been described in three papers published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (2018), Angewandte Chemie (International Edition - 2020), and Chemical Science (2021).

Explaining the significance of this research, Vishal Rai, Associate Professor and Swarnajayanti Fellow, Department of Chemistry, IISER Bhopal, said, “Our team believes that successful platforms for precision engineering of proteins depend on the core understanding of molecular and social behaviour of proteins in the chemical reactions.”

“A key advantage of our LDM platform is that it does not modify the structure or functions of the native protein,” explained Rai.“The LDM platform provides unprecedented control over precision in protein engineering and a very powerful chemical toolbox for biology and medicine,” said the lead researcher.