Supercharged proteins and polypeptides for advanced materials in chemistry and biology

In this thesis, it was shown that the assembly behavior of genetically engineered, supercharged polypeptides (SUPs) and their fusions with other proteins could be significantly expanded. This was achieved on the one hand by combining sequences with high net charge density with β-sheet forming motifs in an alternating fashion. On the other, SUPs were combined with oppositely charged proteins including spherical capsid structures to form cocrystals. Moreover, SUPs and their fusions were translated into diverse potential applications including surface functionalization to tune ice nucleation, as active components for the construction of a chemical tongue and for bioprotonic device fabrication.