Andy Nguyen: Designing molecular machines inspired by nature 

When it comes to engineering, nature remains undefeated. Over billions of years, evolution has produced complex molecular machines that perform with efficiency and selectivity human designers cannot match.  

In his research, Andy Nguyen doesn’t try to compete with nature; he uses it as a guide. His synthetic chemistry group aims to build new materials inspired by natural proteins and enzymes, borrowing methods from biology to design and optimize them. 

“What we’re trying to do is learn how to build new materials in the way that nature has built its molecules,” said Nguyen, assistant professor of chemistry at UIC. “Our approach is to go back and use the amino acids that are utilized as building blocks in nature and figure out how to do that ourselves.” 

Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions, such as the conversion of light and carbon dioxide to energy in photosynthesis. Proteins are highly selective, able to tightly bind specific molecules at low concentrations. Nguyen seeks to adapt these qualities to applications such as clean energy and the removal of pollutants from water. 

To do so, he designs small peptides that can self-assemble into large complexes. Then his group applies an evolutionary process to improve those creations, isolating the highest-performing candidates and refining them further. 

“We iterate around that circle of variation, selection and reproduction,” Nguyen said. “The reason that’s so important is because that’s how nature arrived at all of these exquisitely efficient enzymes and proteins.” 

His early work produced a new type of material called a porous peptide framework, a crystalline 3D structure with pockets that can capture organic molecules and catalyze reactions. These materials could help reduce waste during industrial processes such as drug manufacturing and reduce the price of energy conversion. 

In just five years at UIC, Nguyen has already had his work recognized by several organizations. In addition to the Rising Star award, he was selected for a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award and became the first UIC scientist to receive the Department of Energy Early Career Award.

Nguyen highlighted UIC’s partnership with Argonne National Laboratory as key to his early success and praised the welcoming environment for interdisciplinary research in the UIC Department of Chemistry.

“This research may not have been possible in a different location,” Nguyen said. “I think a lot of other places where I applied may have thought these ideas I proposed were too far-fetched, especially since I was combining two different fields. But UIC believed in it and supported me the whole way through. They really supported taking risks.”