CAREER: Bio-Nanocomposites: An Approach Towards Tissue Engineering

来自生物纳米复合材料的组织工程体现了一种具有适当的物理、化学和机械性能的支架结构的创建，以使组织能够在三维空间形成。本项目的目标是开发具有各向异性结构、生物相容性和生物可降解性的新型生物纳米复合材料，用于组织支架和人造皮肤等先进材料。即将开发的组织工程生物纳米复合材料是由壳聚糖型生物聚合物和可降解合成粘土膨润土组成的定向混杂复合材料。将使用聚合物粘土水凝胶作为支架材料，一侧干燥，产生密度梯度，向外形成一层薄的聚合物粘土薄膜。为了表征这种材料，将研究这种材料的外部聚合物粘土膜区、浓度梯度区和内部水凝胶区。建议解决与新型支架材料设计相关的合成、形态、结构和性能问题。显微镜、散射和流变学等技术将有效地阐明生物纳米复合材料的结构特征和物理性质。这项提议的挑战是将化学、材料科学和生物工程等学科结合起来，提供新技术和对协同生物聚合物-纳米粘土相互作用机制的基本理解，同时通过设计生物纳米复合支架来控制细胞行为。这项工作可能会为生物纳米复合材料的未来设计带来普遍的原理和预测。尽管在利用无机和有机成分制造组织方面做了很多努力，但当涉及到具有各向异性纳米结构的可生物降解软支架时，关键的性能缺陷仍然存在。%这项研究和教育计划的目标是在聚合物、生物工程和材料科学的跨学科领域培养学生，同时提高他们的实验室和沟通技能，为在学术界、企业家、国家和国际实验室或工业的发现生涯做准备。该项目的一个目标是在工业、政府实验室和路易斯安那州立大学之间建立合作伙伴关系。拟议研究的最基本部分涉及中子散射实验，这些实验将主要在NIST中子研究中心、HIFR橡树岭国家实验室和法国格勒诺布尔的Laue Langevin研究所进行。描述了在德国和法国的实验室招收研究生的计划。我们的目标是让学生对可用的资源有所了解，这段经历将教会他们如何与其他科学家合作。教育计划中描述的一些基于发现的实验将建立在路易斯安那州立大学现有资源的基础上并加以扩展，可以整合到针对当地社区弱势青少年和代表性不足的少数族裔学生的科学教育中。例如，应用于材料科学的基于视频的技术“绳索上的范围”已被证明是对本科生教学和K-12推广的无价帮助。典型的应用是生物系统(池塘水)，但同样的技术，经过一些改进，可以用来提高学生对生物材料的认识和兴趣。相当多的本科生理科和非理科专业的学生将成为任教的K-12教师，并可以随身携带提供的工具。***

Tissue engineering from bio-nanocomposites embodies the creation of a scaffold structure that has the appropriate physical, chemical, and mechanical properties to enable tissue formation in three dimensions. The objective of this project is to develop new bio-nanocomposite materials with anisotropic structure, biocompatibility and biodegradable pathways for advanced materials such as tissue scaffolds and artificial skins. The tissue engineered bio-nanocomposite materials that will be developed, are oriented hybrid composites incorporating chitosan-type biopolymer and the degradable synthetic clay Laponite. Polymer-clay hydrogels will be used as the scaffold material that is dried on one side producing a density gradient and a thin polymer clay film to the outside. To characterize such a material the outside polymer clay film zone, the concentration gradient zone and the inside hydrogel zone will be studied.The proposal addresses issues of synthesis, morphology, structure and properties relevant to the design of novel scaffold materials. Several techniques such as microscopy, scattering and rheology will effectively elucidate the structural features and physical properties of the bio-nanocomposite materials. The challenge of this proposal is to combine disciplines such as chemistry, materials science, and bio-engineering to provide new technology and fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of synergistic biopolymer-nanoclay interactions while controlling cellular behavior through the design of bio-nanocomposite scaffolds. This work may lead to general principles and predictions for future design of bio-nanocomposite materials. In spite of many efforts to create tissue from inorganic and organic components critical performance deficiencies remain when it comes to biodegradable soft scaffolds with anisotropic nano-structure that can be used as an artificial skin.%%%The goal of the research and educational program is to train students in the interdisciplinary areas of polymers, bio-engineering and materials science while improving their laboratory and communications skills for a career of discovery in academia, entrepreneurship, national and international laboratories or industry. One aim of this project is to create a partnership between industry, governmental laboratories and Louisiana State University. The most fundamental part of the proposed research involves neutron scattering experiments that will mainly be performed at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, at HIFR, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and at the Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble, France. Plans are described to host graduate students at German and French laboratories. The goal is that the student will gain an appreciation for the resources available, and this experience will teach them how to collaborate with other scientists. Some of the discovery based experiments described in the educational plan will build on and extend resources that are already available at LSU and can be integrated into science education for disadvantaged youngsters and underrepresented minority students in local communities. For example, the video-based technology "scope on a rope" applied to materials science has proven to be an invaluable aid to undergraduate teaching and K-12 outreach. The typical application is to biological systems (pond water) but the same technology, with some improvements, can be used to elevate student awareness of and interest in bio-materials. Quite a few of the undergraduate science and non-science majors the PI will be teaching become K-12 teachers and can take with them the tools provided. ***