Bionanocomposites through Protein-Mediated Assembly of Nanoparticles

在化学学部有机动力学项目的支持下，马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的Vincent Rotello教授将为蛋白质介导的纳米颗粒组装开发强大而通用的策略，其中蛋白质和颗粒在组装和材料特性方面发挥同等作用。先前的研究利用蛋白质进行纳米粒子的自组装，产生了具有可控光学和磁性质的结构聚集体。本研究将扩展这一研究，重点关注自组装过程和组装材料的性能。这些性质介于块状材料和分子化合物之间，很大程度上取决于颗粒的大小和纳米颗粒的形状。当组装成有组织的整体时，这些材料获得了通常与孤立粒子完全不同的集体特性。这种集体行为高度依赖于粒子间距和纳米复合材料形态等问题。将纳米复合材料行为与蛋白质的结构特性（包括大小、形状、氧化还原状态和结构稳定性）相结合，为控制这种集成行为提供了一种方法。这种集体调制为实用的技术应用铺平了道路，如生物传感器，以及更雄心勃勃的前景，如生物复合装置和生物计算。这项由马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校Rotello教授进行的研究是高度跨学科的，包括化学、材料科学、物理学和生物学领域的工具和技术。纳米科学研究的主要目标之一是制备可控制的纳米粒子组件，为生物传感器、开关和高密度磁存储阵列等设备提供有用的构建块。从事这项研究的研究生和本科生将获得对这些不同方法的综合理解，并通过每周的会议来讨论研究。进一步的培训和研究的传播将通过派遣学生参加国家会议，包括材料研究学会和美国化学学会提供。最后，Rotello教授还与jos<s:1> Rivera教授（波多黎各大学，b里约热内卢Piedras）建立了多模式合作伙伴关系，旨在从多个层面加强少数民族研究人员的发展。这种伙伴关系包括由Rotello教授指导教师（普遍定期审议和麻省大学之间的访问），以及我们各自小组之间定期交换研究生和本科生，作为扩大他们的科学和文化教育的工具。

With the support of the Organic Dynamics Program in the Chemistry Division, Professor Vincent Rotello at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst will develop robust and versatile strategies for the protein-mediated assembly of nanoparticles in which the protein and the particle play equal roles in terms of both assembly and materials properties. Previous studies on the self-assembly of nanoparticles using proteins, produced structured aggregates that displayed controlled optical and magnetic properties. This research will extend this study focusing on both the self-assembly process and the properties of the assembled materials. These properties are intermediate between bulk material and molecular compounds and strongly depend on the particle size and the shape of the nanoparticles. When assembled into organized ensembles, these materials gain collective properties that are often quite different from the isolated particles. This collective behavior is highly dependent on issues such as interparticle spacing and nanocomposite morphology. Combining nanocomposite behavior with the structural properties of proteins including size, shape, redox state, and structural stability provides a means to control this ensemble behavior. This collective modulation paves the way for pragmatic technological applications such as biosensors, as well as more ambitious prospects such as biocomposite devices and biological computing.This research by Professor Rotello at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst is highly multidisciplinary featuring tools and techniques from the fields of chemistry, materials science, physics, and biology. One of the primary goals of nanoscience research is the preparation of controlled assemblies of nanoparticles, providing useful building blocks for devices such as biosensors, switches and high-density magnetic storage arrays. The graduate and undergraduate students working on this research will gain an integrated understanding of these diverse methodologies, enhanced through weekly meetings to discuss research. Further training as well as dissemination of research will be provided by sending the students to National Meetings including the Materials Research Society and the American Chemical Society. Finally, Professor Rotello has developed a multimodal partnership with Professor José Rivera (U. Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras) designed to enhance the development of minority researchers at many levels. This partnership includes faculty mentoring by Professor Rotello (with visits between UPR and UMass) and the regular exchange of graduate and undergraduate students between our respective groups as a tool for broadening their scientific and cultural education.