Synthetic mimics of the fibrillar protein collagen were designed by engineering specific supramolecular interactions in the triple helical building blocks. My doctoral research indicates that tri-domain collagen mimetic peptides, with positive, neutral, and negative domains, may form nanofibrous assembly through a staggered triple-helical intermediate stabilized by inter-strand charge pairs.

Based on our understanding of the fibrillation pathway, I have devised a supramolecular retrosynthetic strategy to prepare collagen mimetic nanofibers. By designing an infinite triple helix with optimal number of inter-strand charge pairs, and then identifying the requisite building blocks, I was able to prepare a two-component collagen mimetic fiber with a high melting temperature. Peptide-based collagen mimetic nanofibers have great potential for future medical applications.