Peptide Self-Assembly: Pathological Amyloid to Engineered Biomaterials The self-assembly of peptides and proteins into cross-β amyloid structures is a defining characteristic of amyloid pathologies including Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, type 2 diabetes, and prion encephalopathies. Amyloid protein assemblies are not limited to pathological conditions, but also exist as evolutionarily conserved motifs with defined biological function.

Exploring New Ligand Designs for Asymmetric Catalysis

Exploring New Ligand Designs for Asymmetric Catalysis Sukwon Hong, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida P.O. Box 117200, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7200 Novel chiral Co-salen catalysts capable of self-assembly through hydrogen bonding have been developed. First, a self-assembled dinuclear Co(II)-Salen catalyst featuring the pyridone/aminopyridine H-bonding pair results in significant rate acceleration (48 times faster rate) as well as excellent enantioselectivity (96% ee vs 55% ee) in nitro-aldol reaction, compared to the corresponding monomeric catalyst.