CAREER: Nanothin Films with Selective Pores - Synthesis and Application in Nanobioreactors

在化学学部有机动力学项目的支持下，孟菲斯大学化学系的Pinkhassic教授将构建薄膜纳米胶囊，用作纳米生物反应器，将酶固定在其中。这些纳米反应器将通过光化学聚合和交联各种溶解在脂质体膜双层疏水内部的烯烃单体来构建，从而形成薄的聚合物外壳。这些壳将通过溶解在洗涤剂溶液中从膜中释放出来。通过加入球形可水解的疏水分子，作者计划在聚合物薄膜中创建具有柔性的孔隙，以疏水或亲水的内部排列通道。新型多孔聚合类脂体材料的构建将在生物技术、分离科学和药物运输等许多领域开辟一系列新的可能性。在化学系有机动力学项目的支持下，Pinkhassic教授将推行一种旨在扩大本科生视野的教育策略，以丰富跨学科研究。为此，他将在本科阶段开设几门跨学科课程，并让本科生参与他实验室的跨学科研究。罗德学院和橡树岭国家实验室的研究人员和教育工作者也将参与这些工作。在孟菲斯地区，有很多未被充分代表的少数民族，将通过纳米技术/超分子化学的演示来实现对大学预科学生的推广。

With the support of the Organic Dynamics Program in the Chemistry Division, Professor Pinkhassic, of the Chemistry department at the University of Memphis, will construct thin-film nanocapsules for use as nano-bioreactors in which enzymes will be immobilized. These nano-reactors will be constructed by photochemical polymerization and cross-linking of various olefinic monomers dissolved in the hydrophobic interior of the membrane bilayers of liposomes leading to thin polymer shells. These shells will be released from the membrane by dissolution in detergent solution. By including globular hydrolyzable hydrophobic molecules, the author plans to create pores in the polymer films with the flexibility to line the channels with hydrophobic or hydrophilic interiors. The construction of new porous polymerized lipsome-like materials will open up a range of new possibilities in many areas including biotechnology, separation science, and drug transport.With the support of the Organic Dynamics Program in the Chemistry Division, Professor Pinkhassic will pursue an educational strategy designed to expand the horizons of undergraduate students to the richness of interdisciplinary research. To this end he will develop several interdisciplinary courses at the undergraduate level and involve undergraduates in the interdisciplinary research in his laboratory. Researchers and educators from Rhodes College and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will also be included in these efforts. Outreach to pre-college students in the Memphis area, which is rich in underrepresented minorities, will be accomplished by demonstrations of nanotechnology/supramolecular chemistry.