Drug & Gene Therapy of Undruggable Proteins
Many disease‑critical IDPs and membrane complexes resist traditional small‑molecule inhibition. We combine realistic membrane testbeds with vesicle‑based delivery to discover modulators and deliver nucleic acids/gene‑editing cargos against ‘undruggable’ targets.
Suspended/asymmetric bilayers (‘plasma‑membrane‑on‑a‑chip’) recreate lipid asymmetry and protein mobility to screen modulators of docking, priming, and Ca²⁺‑triggered fusion.
EV‑like and biomimetic lipid vesicles are loaded with siRNA/mRNA/RNPs and purified by light‑driven fractionation; native‑MS verifies composition; targeting ligands/fusogens improve tropism and fusion.
Selected publications
- Suspended lipid bilayer: mechanism‑aware drug discovery platform. Accounts of Materials Research, 2022 (Cover/Invited). See publications →
- Asymmetric suspended membranes protocol for protein dynamics & fusion. Nature Protocols, 2025. See publications →
- Programmable light‑driven vesicle sorting for therapy‑grade vectors. Advanced Materials, in review. See publications →