The International Community for the Advancement of Peptoids
About us.
Established in 2023, the International Community for the Advancement of Peptoids is a nonprofit organization that aims to to provide educational information, facilitate collaboration and idea exchange, and host educational events and conferences for the international community in the area of peptoid science and technology. Our mission is to advance, facilitate, and promote peptoid research and development, for the benefit of society.
Our primary function is to convene the Peptoid Summit conference series, bringing researchers together from all over the world to share results, conceive new ideas, and engage in collaborative discussions to foster innovation and application development.
We welcome your input and engagement! Please feel free to contact us at: icap@peptoids.org.
-Ron Zuckermann, Executive Director
The promise.
Since the discovery of peptoids in 1991, research activity continues to grow rapidly, approaching a rate of 200 reports per year. Peptoids are a highly designable polymer system, allowing unprecedented control over their exact chemical structure. Among their desirable attributes are: ease of synthesis, striking structural resemblance to polypeptides, chemical diversity, chemical and biological stability, potent biological activities, propensity for self-assembly, and computational designability. This is leading to advances in a wide range of fields, from biomedicine to materials science. Despite over 3,000 published reports, and over three decades of research, the true potential of peptoid science is only beginning to be unlocked. Several exciting peptoids-based products are in development, and peptoids are beginning to be produced on an industrial scale to bring them closer to market.
Make a donation.
The International Community for the Advancement of Peptoids is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation in the State of California. We need your support in order to bring you the best Summit experience, and to grow our community. Your donations are fully tax-deductible, and will go toward developing tools to facilitate peptoid science. We are fully community supported and rely exclusively on your donations!
Get involved!
We are looking for motivated researchers at any career stage to volunteer and join our team to develop initiatives to benefit the peptoid community.
Please contact us at icap@peptoids.org to find out more.
Peptoid Summit organizing
Undergraduate education
Structural databases
Nomenclature standards and experimental protocols
Computational tools
Fundraising
Event/symposium planning
Peptoid job opportunities
Virtual connectivity
Our history.
The International Community for the Advancement of Peptoids has its roots at Chiron Corp. (Emeryville, CA) where peptoids were first discovered in the early 1990’s. Industry-academic collaborations forged with UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley created a community of enthusiastic researchers, who saw the broad fundamental and practical potential of these molecules. An annual meeting was formalized in 1999, where the 1st Peptoid Summit was convened.
The 1st Peptoid Summit was held at Chiron Corp. in 1999, with participation from the groups of Prof. Ken Dill (UCSF), Prof. Fred Cohen (UCSF) and Dr. Ron Zuckermann (Chiron). Annelise Barron (center, front) and Kent Kirshenbaum (right, rear) continue today to passionately pursue the development of peptoids in their own labs.
Over the years, the Peptoid Summit has grown from a small 1 day annual meeting, to an international gathering of scientists from academia, industry, and government labs. The Summit is now a 3-day meeting, held every other year, with over 150 attendees participating.
Diversity Statement.
At ICAP we believe that diversity is not only a fundamental value but also a source of strength and innovation. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents. We embrace diversity in all its forms, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, ability, socioeconomic status, educational training, and cultural background. Through our programs, initiatives, and partnerships, we strive to create opportunities for all individuals to thrive. We recognize that achieving true diversity and inclusion requires ongoing effort, education, and dialogue, and we are dedicated to continuously learning and evolving in this journey. Join us in building a future where diversity is not just accepted but celebrated, and where every voice is heard and valued.
Thank you!
Many thanks to our sponsors over the years:
AnVen Biosciences
Autodesk
BioPACIFIC MIP
Biotage
CEM
Center for the Science of Synthesis Across Scales
Gyros Protein Technologies
Insamo
Major, Inc.
Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Maxwell Biosciences
Nutcracker Therapeutics
Novartis
Ten30 Biosciences
Peptide Solutions
PolyPeptide Group
Unnatural Products
Waters
Wiley: Biopolymers and Peptide Science
Vilya Therapeutics
US Department of Energy
X-Therma
Kent (left) and Ron (right)
ICAP Officers:
Executive Director, President: Dr. Ronald Zuckermann, Researcher Emeritus, Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Vice-President: Prof. Kent Kirshenbaum, Dept. of Chemistry, New York University.