NIRT: Biocatalytic Membrane Nanosystems (BMNs)

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This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 03-043, category NIRT. Recent advances in molecular engineering of ordered nanoporous materials with tunable surface chemistries and their integration into macroscopic architectures offer new, unprecedented opportunities to design highly efficient biomimetic systems for biocatalytic production of pharmaceuticals and other fine chemicals. This NIRT research will design ordered nanoporous silica layers containing encapsulated enzymes as part of Biocatalytic Membrane Nanosystems (BMNs). The fundamental scientific issues underlying the design of highly efficient BMNs will be addressed for two well-characterized and important enzymatic reactions: (1) cofactor-dependent selective oxidation of non-activated carbons by cytochrome P450 BM-3 oxygenase and (2) kinetic resolution of achiral molecules by Pseudomonas cepacia lipase. The integration of various components into fully functioning prototype BMNs will be conducted in parallel with the fundamental studies employing nanoporous silica. This research will lead to improved understanding of nanoscale structure and catalytic function of biomimetic systems and to the design of improved biocatalysts from basic scientific principles.The broader education impacts of this NIRT research are aimed at training of undergraduate and graduate students in the area of molecularly engineered materials for biocatalytic applications. This will be accomplished in part by the outreach efforts directed towards improving higher education opportunities for minority and women engineers by alerting them to the graduate research opportunities at the University of Cincinnati (UC). These efforts will be complemented by a new research effort on societal impacts of nanotechnology that will bring together the UC Institute for Policy Research, leading UC researchers and graduate students in social and physical sciences to develop a plan for integrating the social and technological aspects of nanotechnology.