RNA Mediated Evolution of Nanomaterials

无机化学、生物无机化学和金属有机化学项目的这一奖项支持开发一种新的方法，通过使用进化的RNA催化剂来合成显示出不同寻常的物理特性和形态的新材料。本项目旨在更深入地了解RNA催化材料合成的机理，并努力利用RNA来寻找其他先进的功能材料。该项目的目标是：确定RNA催化的金属-金属和金属-氧键形成的机理细节；将RNA一级结构和可能的二级结构与固态无机材料结构相关联；并为进化出新的电催化剂材料开发新的体外选择方法。RNA进化选择过程将被用来分离催化形成固态材料的RNA序列，并可能应用于新的催化材料，如储氢、甲醇氧化、燃料电池以及磁性设备和传感器。研究生和本科生将在无机化学和分子生物学的界面上接受研究方法方面的培训。

This award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports the development of a novel method of synthesizing new materials, which display unusual physical properties and morphologies, through the use of evolved RNA catalysts. This project aims at a deeper mechanistic understanding of RNA-catalyzed materials synthesis, and endeavors to exploit RNA to search for other advanced functional materials. The goals of the project are to: determine mechanistic details for RNA-catalyzed metal-metal and metal-oxygen bond formation; correlate RNA primary and possibly secondary structure with solid-state inorganic materials structure; and develop new in vitro selection methodologies for evolving new electrocatalyst materials. An RNA evolutionary selection process will be used to isolate RNA sequences that catalyze the formation of solid-state materials, with potential applications to new catalytic materials for hydrogen storage, methanol oxidation, fuel cells and magnetic devices and sensors. Graduate students and undergraduates will be trained in research methods at the interface of inorganic chemistry and molecular biology.