CAREER: Bio-Membrane Mediated Colloidal Assembly

职业：生物膜介导的胶体组装

• 批准号: 0746038
• 负责人: Raghuveer Parthasarathy
• 金额: $ 47.79万
• 依托单位: University of Oregon Eugene
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-02-01 至 2014-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0746038&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Bio; Membrane; Mediated; Colloidal

This Career Award from the Biomaterials Program in the Division of Materials Research to the University of Oregon will support studies that aim to quantify and control interactions among microparticles to enable the self-organization of structurally complex colloidal crystals. Such superstructures have long been of interest as models of phenomena such as crystallization and defect dynamics, and are technologically important due to intriguing optical properties. The proposed experiments adopt a biomimetic approach to self-assembly, creating colloidal particles functionalized with two-dimensionally fluid bio-membranes. These studies are expected to expand paradigms of colloidal assembly by co-opting tools of biological self-organization, using functionalization of microparticles with lipid and protein membranes to control colloidal crystal formation. Several attributes make bio-membranes appealing mediators of inter-particle interactions: the variety and specificity of protein linkages; the ease with which lipid composition can control electrostatic properties; and the two-dimensional fluidity of membranes, which confers on their constituents the ability to reorganize their distribution as the context demands. The project could define an experimental route to both creating and characterizing the interactions among membrane-derivatized microspheres. Activity-coupled educational programs described in the project will use explorations of contemporary biophysical and biomaterial topics as tools to promote higher education in the sciences to middle-school students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and to improve non-science-major college students' understanding of science and scientific thinking. To engage and educate non-science-major college undergraduates, the PI will create a unique course exploring the physical properties of biological materials through readings, discussions, and laboratory exercises. Exposure to diverse contemporary subjects can change students' perceptions of the nature of the sciences and the relevance of scientific concepts to the everyday world. A coupled educational agenda will use activities that spotlight current, cross-disciplinary science, including the sort exemplified by the proposed research program, to impact the education of a wide spectrum of students. To address the low rate of college enrollment by students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, as part of this project, a Physics Day Camp will be developed that would provide disadvantaged secondary school students with information about access to higher education, an introduction to the culture of scientific inquiry, and activity-based science education.

该职业奖来自俄勒冈州大学材料研究部的生物材料项目，将支持旨在量化和控制微粒之间相互作用的研究，以实现结构复杂的胶体晶体的自组织。 这样的超结构一直感兴趣的现象，如结晶和缺陷动力学的模型，并在技术上是重要的，由于有趣的光学性质。 所提出的实验采用仿生方法进行自组装，产生具有二维流体生物膜功能的胶体颗粒。 这些研究预计将扩大范式的胶体组装，通过增选生物自组织的工具，使用功能化的微粒与脂质和蛋白质膜，以控制胶体晶体的形成。 几个属性使生物膜吸引人的调解员的粒子间的相互作用：蛋白质连接的多样性和特异性;脂质组合物可以控制静电性能的容易性;和二维流动性的膜，赋予其成分的能力，重组其分布的上下文的要求。 该项目可以定义一个实验路线，以创建和表征膜衍生微球之间的相互作用。该项目所述的活动结合教育方案将利用对当代生物物理和生物材料主题的探索作为工具，促进对社会经济背景不利的中学生的科学高等教育，并提高非科学专业大学生对科学和科学思维的理解。 为了吸引和教育非科学专业的大学本科生，PI将创建一个独特的课程，通过阅读，讨论和实验室练习探索生物材料的物理特性。接触各种当代学科可以改变学生对科学性质的看法以及科学概念与日常世界的相关性。 一个耦合的教育议程将使用突出当前跨学科科学的活动，包括拟议的研究计划所例示的那种，以影响广泛的学生的教育。 为了解决社会经济背景不利的学生大学入学率低的问题，作为该项目的一部分，将开发一个物理日营，为处境不利的中学生提供有关接受高等教育的信息，介绍科学探究文化和基于活动的科学教育。