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

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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.