Cooperative Research with Australia: Polyethlene Glycol Modulated Biosynthesis of Natural-synthetic Hybrid Block Copolymers

9904174奖学金该奖项支持阿拉巴马大学亨茨维尔分校的卡门·肖尔茨教授和澳大利亚新南威尔士大学的约翰·福斯特博士就杂化聚合物开展合作研究。这项拟议的研究是两位教授在职业生涯早期建立的新合作伙伴关系，并利用了两位研究人员的互补专业知识。这项研究是研究和阐明天然-合成嵌段共聚物的微生物合成的一种综合方法。该研究项目将集中在两个方面：阐明嵌段共聚所涉及的酶系统和研究新型嵌段共聚物的材料特性，这些嵌段共聚物在利用可再生资源生产新材料方面具有令人兴奋的潜力。人们对用于特定目的的新型材料的需求越来越大。对新材料的追求越来越注重环境兼容性，最常见的是材料的生物降解性。环境兼容性包括利用可再生资源生产新材料，对环境友好的生产，以及材料用完后的无害化处置和降解。对PHA-b-PEG三元共聚物的研究将提供满足这些要求的新型材料。

9904174ScholzThis award supports the initiation of collaborative research on hybrid polymers between Professor Carmen Scholz, University of Alabama, Huntsville, and Dr. John Foster of the University of New South Wales, Australia. The proposed research is a new partnership between two professors early in their careers and draws on complementary expertise of the two researchers. The proposed research is a comprehensive approach to the investigation and elucidation of the microbial synthesis of natural-synthetic block copolymers . The research project will focus on two aspects: the elucidation of the enzyme system involved in the block copolymerization and the study of the material characteristics of the novel block copolymers, with exciting potential in the field of production of novel materials from renewable resources. There is a growing demand for novel materials serving very specific purposes. The quest for new materials focuses increasingly on environmental compatibility, most often biodegradability of the materials. Environmental compatibility includes the production of new materials from renewable resources, environmentally friendly production, and hazard-free disposal and degradations of the materials after their use is exhausted. This research into PHA-b-PEG copolymers will provide novel materials addressing these requirements.