Morphological Control of Silk DiBlock-Copolymers

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CBET-0828028David L Kaplan, Tufts UniversityIntellectual merit The Principal Investigators (PIs) plan to design, synthesize, and characterize the properties of a new family of silk-based diblock copolymers. This work builds on a recently completed NSF grant, in which the PIs have described many aspects of silk-protein biophysical features related to material properties for this unique family of proteins. These studies provided insight into the mechanistic behavior of silk protein self-assembly into organized material structures, as well as various biomaterial applications for these assembled materials.Broader impacts The broader impact of the planned studies will be both technical and educational.The new polymers may have impact in many areas of specialty materials as well as providing fundamental insight into self-assembly. Impact on green chemistry is anticipated due to the all aqueous processing in the designs, assembly, and degradability of the structures derived from the proteins. Educational outreach for undergraduate and graduate students as well as the faculty involved will also be significant. This will be realized via laboratory rotations in the labs of the coPIs to gain a complete interdisciplinary experience; classroom impact for K-12 programs run through the Center for Engineering Education Outreach (CEEO); and opportunities to engage a wide range of undergraduate students, such as through the Summer Scholars, NIH-sponsored BREEM (Biomedical Research Experiences for Engineering Majors) and NIH-sponsored BEND (Bringing Engineers into New Disciplines) programs at Tufts. The coPIs will develop new course modules for both the new Engineering Biology Course and the Biophysics Course under this activity. Specific plans to address Women and Underrepresented Minorities are an integrated aspect of the program.