CAREER: Cross-linked Phospholipid Nanosensors for Intracellular Investigations

化学系的分析和表面化学(ASC)计划将支持亚利桑那大学克雷格·阿斯平沃尔教授的职业发展计划。阿斯平沃尔教授的综合研究和教育项目专注于用可聚合磷脂制备的新型细胞内光学纳米壳传感器的设计和应用。阿斯平沃尔教授和他的研究小组将使用囊泡包裹的酶和荧光指示剂染料和蛋白质的组合，构建稳定的细胞内化学传感器，用于葡萄糖、丙酮酸、植酸盐和其他生理上重要的分析物。合成的传感器将用于监测复杂的生物系统。阿斯平沃尔教授的研究将应用测量科学来解决目前处于生物学研究前沿的问题，并将成为跨学科教育的理想平台。在教学层面上，这些研究问题的化学和分析挑战将为希望从事化学和生物交界处工作的受训者提供一个极好的教育机会。重要的是，该项目将把代表不足的少数族裔的学生纳入这一研究领域。目前可用的分析技术无法在细胞水平上提供化学信息，这阻碍了神经疾病和癌症新的和改进的治疗方法的发展。阿斯平沃尔教授的实验室开发的新的微型传感器将使人们能够在单细胞水平上更好地理解生物过程。在未来，它们将使治疗与细胞异常相关的疾病的方法得以开发。

The Analytical and Surface Chemistry (ASC) program of the Division of Chemistry will support the CAREER development plan of Prof. Craig Aspinwall of the University of Arizona. Prof. Aspinwall's integrated research and education program focuses on the design and utilization of new intracellular optical nanoshell sensors prepared with polymerizable phospholipids. Prof. Aspinwall and his research group will construct stabilized intracellular chemical sensors for glucose, pyruvate, phytate and other physiologically important analytes using a combination of vesicle-encapsulated enzymes and fluorescent indicator dyes and proteins. The resultant sensors will be used to monitor complex biological systems. The research of Prof. Aspinwall will apply measurement science to address problems that are currently at the frontier of biological research and will serve as an ideal platform for inter-disciplinary education. At the pedagogical level, the chemical and analytical challenges of these research problems will provide an excellent educational opportunity for trainees desiring work at the interface of chemistry and biology. Importantly, the project will integrate students from underrepresented minorities into this area of research. Currently available analysis techniques are unable to provide chemical information at the cellular level, which hampers the development of new and improved therapeutic methods for neurological diseases and cancer. The new miniaturized sensors developed in Prof. Aspinwall's laboratory will enable better understanding of biological processes at the single cell level. In the future they will enable the development of cures for diseases associated with cellular abnormalities.