Tweaking proteins with ’Tub-tag’

LMU researchers, together with colleagues based in Berlin, have developed a rapid and efficient technique for targeted chemoenzymatic functionalization of proteins. The new method has a wide range of potential therapeutic applications. Selective intermolecular recognition is at the heart of all biological processes. Thus proteins that bind specifically to complementary chemical structures are also indispensable for many biochemical and biotechnological applications. Targeted modification of such proteins therefore plays a significant role in medical diagnostics and therapies. Now researchers led by Professor Heinrich Leonhardt at LMU's Biocenter and Professor Christian Hackenberger of the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology in Berlin have developed a new strategy that permits specific chemical modification of virtually any protein more rapidly and more efficiently than was hitherto possible. Their results appear in the new edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie .