CAREER: Self-Assembly and Direct Fabrication of Stimuli-Responsive Colloidal Materials Governed by Proteins to Enable Applications of Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine

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ABSTRACTIntellectual Merits:The PI seeks to develop intelligent colloidal suspensions that interact dynamically with their environments, stimulating a host of new applications of nanotechnology at the frontiers of biology and medicine. Following nature's lead, proteins will control the structure and function of these materials. The specific aims of this research are: to control colloidal interactions with proteins. to assemble colloidal particles into useful novel structures. to create colloidal materials that dynamically alter their microscopic and bulk properties in response to subtle and specific biochemical stimuli.To realize these ambitious goals, the proposed research will fuse recent advances in colloidal science and molecular biology. Optical microscopy and micromanipulation will be leveraged to develop a fundamental understanding of the statistical mechanics of specifically interacting systems. This understanding will not only guide the design of future materials, but it may also shed light on the physics of biological systems at the cellular and molecular levels. Broader Impacts: The PI will integrate this research into a range of educational and outreach programs. At the elementary and secondary levels, the PI will work with New Haven public school teachers to develop curricular units in Materials Science and Optics for K-12 students. These curricular units will not only benefit the students of New Haven, but they will also be published online for national and international access. At the undergraduate level, the PI will continue to mentor students in his laboratory and emphasize group learning and communications skills in all of his classes. The PI will also develop new experiments for a junior level lab course in Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics. At the graduate and post-doctoral level, the PI is a co-organizer of the 2006 Boulder School for Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. This NSF-sponsored program will focus on the physics of complex fluids and its application to biological systems. Furthermore, the graduate students involved in the proposed research will develop a broad set of skills in colloid science and molecular biology. This interdisciplinary training will prepare them for innovative careers in nanoscience and nanotechnology at the intersection of the physical and biological sciences.The PI will continue to collaborate with industrial researchers, disseminate image analysis software on the web, and encourage members of underrepresented groups to contribute to the proposed research.