Research

piscidins_g1

  • The Cotten group employs biophysical, biochemical, and biological methods to study structure-activity relationships and molecular recognition in peptides and proteins active at biological interfaces or surfaces such as lipid bilayers and DNA. Current research focuses on multi-hit host defense peptides, cell penetrating peptides, neuropeptides, and lipid-transfer proteins.
  • We use and develop various methods, including static and magic angle spinning solid-state NMR and solution NMR spectroscopy, to elucidate molecular recognition properties of bioactive peptides in the context of living cells and their mimics, and therefore help identify principles for the rational design and applications of biomaterials and therapeutics.

To read more about how we use solid-state NMR and our NSF-funded project, please browse the following pages:

http://mcotten.blogs.wm.edu/?page_id=1300&preview=true

The Piscidins: Novel Host Defense Peptides from Fish