CA23111 - Searching for Nanostructured or pOre fOrming Peptides for therapY (SNOOPY)

The COST Action SNOOPY will bring together a network of experts and young researchers from diverse disciplines (chemistry, biology, biochemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, medicine, physics) to overcome existing barriers to predict and implement bioactive peptides’ ability to self-assemble into functional nanostructures, including those at the interface with membranes, potentially forming pores and channels. This is a fast-growing field with enormous potential for therapy (including targeted cancer therapy, drug delivery, amyloidosis inhibition, regenerative medicine, membrane channels, and antimicrobials), and for the development of nanotechnological tools that could include potential use in diagnostics, optics, catalysis, and bioelectronics. Theoreticians and experimentalists of the SNOOPY Action will synergize to enable in silico predictions of self-assembly behavior, as well as to develop new advanced characterization methods, and to produce them and test them too. The expertise gathered by the Action will be applied to train and build the career of younger members. The geopolitical balance of the Action is strategically set to level the gap between COST Members, and to make of its diversity a tactical asset to boost creativity and foster new ideas. The Action will have socioeconomical impact through the search for new diagnostic and therapeutic solutions to address some of the most formidable challenges of the society (e.g., advance our understanding of amyloidoses and antimicrobial resistance), to assist scientists and industry in the development of new technologies (e.g., peptide nanostructures as vaccine adjuvants) and to develop more sustainable processes (e.g., greener peptide synthesis, or using peptides as biodegradable substitutes to polluting alternatives).