RUI: Physicochemical Mechanics in Nanostructured Soft Surface Materials

需要自组装制造的新产品和技术正在广泛不同的领域得到开发，如微电子和纳米电子学、光学、材料科学和生物工程。自组装超薄表面材料在生物应用方面特别有吸引力，因为它们可以被设计成具有增强或刺激响应特性，如机械强度或生物降解性。本研究将开发和表征适应性纳米生物材料，其结构和性能可以响应外部刺激。超薄纳米结构聚合物复合材料的物理化学力学和化学动力学将从实验和理论两方面进行探索，以便在纳米水平上建立材料结构与响应之间的关系。具体的项目目标是：a.)阐明超薄纳米复合表面材料的生长机制，b.)表征这些材料在静载荷下的机械响应，c.)测量生物可降解薄膜在没有和存在机械应力的情况下的化学反应速率。由于软介质中结构、力学响应和化学动力学之间的关系尚不清楚，因此这项研究工作将对生物医学新兴技术产生重大影响。该项目包括拉斐特学院（Lafayette College）的综合研究和教育项目，这是一所本科院校，将扩大本科生对前沿研究的参与，同时为拉斐特引入纳米技术项目建立基础设施。此外，与德国波茨坦的马克斯普朗克胶体和界面研究所的国际合作将为本科生提供一个获得国际暑期研究经验和文化接触的机会，这将加强他们作为具有全球意识的年轻科学家的发展。

New products and technologies requiring self-assembled fabrication are being developed in widely different areas such as micro and nanoelectronics, optics, materials science, and bioengineering. Self-assembled ultrathin surface materials are particularly attractive for biological applications because they can be engineered to feature enhanced or stimulus-responsive properties such as mechanical strength or biodegradability. This research will develop and characterize adaptive nanobiomaterials whose structures and properties can respond to external stimuli. Physicochemical mechanics and chemical kinetics in ultrathin nanostructured polymer composites will be explored both experimentally and theoretically so that relationships between materials structure and response can be established at the nanoscopic level. Specific project objectives are: a.) elucidation of growth mechanisms of ultrathin nanocomposite surface materials, b.) characterization of mechanical response of these materials under static loading, and c.) measurements of chemical reaction rates in biodegradable thin films in the absence and presence of mechanical stress.The research work will have a significant impact in emerging technologies in biomedicine since relationships between structure, mechanical response, and chemical kinetics in soft media are not yet clear. This project encompasses an integrative research and education program at Lafayette College, an undergraduate institution, which will expand the participation of undergraduates in cutting edge research while building infrastructure for the introduction of a nanotechnology program at Lafayette. In addition, an international cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany will provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to gain an international summer research experience and cultural exposure that will enhance their development as globally aware young scientists.