Multivalent "Artificial Antibody" Based on RNA/Dendrimer-Like Star Polymer Hybrid Nanomaterials

该奖项由康涅狄格大学材料研究部的生物材料项目授予，旨在研究基于RNA适体缀合物和可生物降解的树突状星形聚合物的多价人工抗体，并证明这些新型纳米生物材料具有抗体特性的概念。早期的研究表明，RNA适体比抗体小，具有最小的免疫原性，独特的结合特异性和亲和力，具有良好的化学和生物稳定性。该提案包括设计和合成可生物降解的树状星形聚合物，将RNA适配体偶联到聚合物上，以及这些聚合物-RNA偶联物的功能表征。抗体是经过长期生命进化而形成的天然纳米材料。由于其对抗原的高亲和力和特异性，抗体已被广泛应用于各个领域。然而，由于它们的免疫原性、相对较大的分子尺寸以及在制造、运输、储存和化学生物偶联等过程中的低化学和生物稳定性，许多应用可能会受到严重阻碍。所合成的抗体有望具有比天然抗体更小的尺寸、环境稳定的结构、可调节的生物降解性和生物相容性等优越的特性。从这些研究中获得的知识将有助于各种技术应用，例如靶向药物输送、诊断和生物检测。在研制人工抗体方面的科学影响将是一个巨大的突破，并将对药物输送、疫苗研制和药物靶向等领域产生巨大影响。凭借这一奖项，王教授和朱教授计划为本科生开设一门新的纳米生物材料和纳米医学的动手实验室课程。作为拓展计划的一部分，作为大学达芬奇计划的一部分，调查人员将利用为期一周的教师训练营，让他们接触到生物纳米材料的前沿。研究成果将通过材料科学研究所的副项目与行业合作，以及在高质量的同行评审期刊上发表，并在国内和国际会议上发表，广泛传播。

This award to University of Connecticut by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research is to study the multivalent artificial antibody based on conjugates of RNA aptamers and biodegradable dendrimer-like star polymers, and to prove the concept that these novel nanobiomaterials have properties of antibodies. Earlier studies have demonstrated that RNA aptamers, which are of smaller size than antibody show minimal immunogenicity, unique binding specificity and affinity, and excellent chemical and biological stability. The proposal includes design and synthesis of biodegradable dendrimer star-like polymers, conjugation of RNA aptamers to the polymer, and functional characterization of these polymer-RNA conjugates. Antibodies are natural nanomaterials that have been developed over a long-term evolution of life. Because of their high affinity and specificity to antigens, antibodies have been used in various areas. Many applications, however, can be significantly hindered because of their immunogenicity, relatively large molecular size, and low chemical and biological stability during manufacturing, shipping, storage and chemical bioconjugation, etc. The synthetic antibodies that being synthesized are expected to possess superior features such as smaller size than natural antibody, environmentally stable structure, tunable biodegradability, and biocompatible property. The knowledge developed from these studies would be useful for various technological applications, e.g., targeted drug delivery, diagnosis and biodetection. The scientific impact in the development of artificial antibodies would be an enormous breakthrough, and would have huge impacts in the fields of drug delivery, vaccine development and drug targeting among others. With this award, Professors Wang and Zhu plan to develop a new course in nanobiomaterials and nanomedicine with hands on laboratory for undergraduate students. As part of the outreach program and as part of the Da Vinci program at the University, the investigators will utilize one week training camp for teachers to expose them to the cutting edge of bionanomaterials. Research results will be broadly disseminated by collaborations with industries through the Associate Programs at the Institute of Materials Science, as well as by publications in quality peer-reviewed journals and presentations at national and international meetings.