# Programming the Design, Assembly, and Function of Mesoporous Peptide Crystals

> **NSF 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · University of California - Merced (CA) · $418,423

## Abstract

NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY:

From desalination membranes to sensors for detecting nerve agents to drug delivery carriers, porous materials represent a critical materials class that supports myriad applications. Over the past several decades, there have been significant advances in developing porous materials with tailorable physical and chemical properties from non-biological components (e.g., metal ions, organic molecules, etc.). However, there is a growing interest in fabricating functional porous materials from biological building blocks (e.g., proteins and peptides), which display unparalleled levels of structural, chemical, and functional diversity as evidenced by the complex and functional assemblies that are ubiquitous in biology. The goal of this project is to establish a new, synthetic route towards building porous materials from peptide-based building blocks. Peptides are ideal assembly building blocks, because they can be synthesized directly in the lab and thus their structural and chemical properties can be systematically tuned to create programmable materials that perform alongside their biological counterparts. Moreover, because they are synthesized chemically, one can easily integrate non-biological features to further diversify and enhance peptide-based materials with novel properties that extend beyond nature. This NSF project establishes a new family of porous materials that are derived from synthetically modified collagen-mimetic peptides. Results from this p

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2534247
- **Awardee organization:** University of California - Merced (CA)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** FFM7VPAG8P92
- **PI:** Andrea Merg
- **Primary program:** 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** MATERIALS EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, NANO NON-SOLIC SCI & ENG AWD, BIO-RELATED MATERIALS RESEARCH, Nanomaterials, ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY EDUCATION, UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
- **Estimated total:** $418,423
- **Funds obligated:** $418,423
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 09/01/2025 → 08/31/2028

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2534247

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2534247, Programming the Design, Assembly, and Function of Mesoporous Peptide Crystals. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-07 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nsf/2534247. Licensed CC0.

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