Oligometrics is named after the chemical entity called an oligomer. Oligomers are small macromolecules arbitrarily defined as 3-50 individual monomer units linked together by covalent bonds. Oligomers can be any of a host of compounds, such as DNA, RNA, peptides, or short organic polymers. We design peptides and use the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP, structure at right) as the fluorescent tag. It is a relatively simple matter to perform the molecular biology where DNA first is designed which codes for the desired peptide, synthesized, and then it is inserted into plasmid DNA. The plasmid DNA is then expressed in bacteria, ultimately leading to a fusion protein where the GFP and the designed peptide are covalently linked together.
Our efforts so far have led to many valuable insights into peptide chemistry, including amino acid interactions, peptide rigidity, and the principles that govern molecular binding.
