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The European Research Council (ERC) – the first pan-European funding body for frontier research - was set up in 2007 under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7, the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe, running from 2007-2013). PROJECT GOALS
The overall goal of the FOLDHALO project will be to fully elucidate the capabilities and properties of halogen atoms as recognition "sticky" sites in the context of biomolecules. The programme of work will centre around three closely integrated and synergistic strands. The common theme is to exploit halogen bonding for the design of "smart" peptides and foldamers (Strand 1), the obtainment of complexes of polyhalogenated organic pollutants with serum proteins and antibodies (Strand 2), and to assemble biomimetic sensors for polyhalogenated organic pollutants (Strand 3). The overall aim of this project is, therefore, to enlighten to the scientific community the potential that halogen bonding has to become a very powerful tool in the manipulation of molecular recognition phenomena in chemistry, biology, and materials science.
