Lipid Dip-Pen Nanolithography for Model Bio-Membrane Systems

化学系的分析和表面化学项目将支持西北大学的Mirkin教授和德国明斯特大学的Harald Fuchs教授的合作研究项目。该奖项与德国研究协会（DFG）通过国家科学基金会和DFG之间的联合计划资助的合作奖相协调，该计划共同资助美国和德国研究人员之间的合作项目。该合作项目的目的是开发脂质浸笔纳米光刻（L-DPN）方法，用于制造能够在体外模拟细胞功能的磷脂膜。Mirkin团队在表面生物化学、DPN和微加工方面的专业知识将与Fuchs团队在扫描探针显微镜、自组织系统和纳米级分析方面的专业知识相结合。越来越多的证据表明，生物膜的各种特性强烈地依赖于二维和三维异质性。因此，具有超高横向分辨率的多组分膜阵列可以控制二维和三维相互作用，这将有助于模拟细胞功能。目前在表面上产生流体和机械稳定的膜阵列的方法并不适合在底物上对脂质进行图像化以重建蛋白质。此外，以适当的规模或用几种化学成分将材料封装到支持的脂质多层膜中仍然是一个重大挑战。DPN是目前唯一能够克服这些障碍的技术。L-DPN制造的图案将被表征为脂质油墨组成、底物化学和环境条件的函数，以确定合适的特征尺寸，用于研究生物分子的相互作用、脂质图案的超分子结构以及可与磷脂油墨整合的材料。一旦完全开发，这些工具将允许生物学家、化学家和其他人在基础水平上研究生物和化学相互作用。该项目将为学生在一个高度跨学科的领域提供优秀的培训机会，其中包括在德国的国际研究经验和在美国的德国学生。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。

The Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry will support the collaborative research program of Prof. Mirkin of Northwestern University and Prof. Harald Fuchs of the University of Munster, Germany. This award coordinates with a collaborative award funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through a joint program between the NSF and DFG that jointly funds collaborative projects between US and German investigators.The purpose of this collaborative project is to develop the method of Lipid Dip-Pen Nanolithography (L-DPN) for the fabrication of phospholipid membranes capable of mimicking cellular functions in vitro. The expertise of the Mirkin group in surface biochemistry, DPN and microfabrication will be combined with the Fuchs group expertise in scanning probe microscopy, self organized systems and nano-scale analytics. There is growing evidence that the various properties of biological membranes strongly depend on both two- and three-dimensional heterogeneities. Therefore, it would be useful for modeling cellular functions to have multi-component membrane arrays with ultra-high lateral resolution in which 2 and 3 dimensional interaction can be controlled. Current methods for generating fluid and mechanically stable membrane arrays on surfaces are not optimum for patterning lipids on substrates for reconstitution of proteins. Additionally, encapsulation of materials into supported lipid multilayers at an appropriate scale or with several chemical components remains a significant challenge. DPN is the only currently available technology that may be capable of overcoming these obstacles. L-DPN fabricated patterns will be characterized as a function of the lipid ink composition, substrate chemistry, and environmental conditions in order to determine suitable feature sizes for studying interactions of biological molecules, the supramolecular structures of lipid patterns, and materials which are amenable to integration with phospholipid inks. Once fully developed, these tools will allow biologists, chemists, and others to study biological and chemical interactions at a fundamental level. The project will provide excellent training opportunities to students in a highly multi-disciplinary area, which will include international research experience in Germany and for German students in the US.The award is co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering at NSF.