Materials World Network: Structure-Response Relations of Advanced Diagnostic Tools

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Materials World Network for Structure-response Relations of Advanced Diagnostic Tools comprises a research and education partnership among the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute at Virginia Tech, the School of Physics at the University of Western Australia, the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis at the University of Western Australia, NIST, and a global expanded network of scientists and engineers focused on diagnostics utilizing magnetic fields. The International team will develop new magnetite-polymer contrast agents for quantitative MRi of tissue that have the combined properties of very fast transverse NMR relaxivities in physiological conditions AND that will interact with biological components in prescribed ways. The research is driven by the hypothesis that the properties of amphiphilic polymer coatings on magnetite can be finely-tuned to enhance the relaxivities of water protons in the local vicinity of the nanoparticle, yet contain hydrophobic components that enable efficient interactions with cellular components. Our collective MWN expertise lies in synthesis of well-defined magnetic cores and copolymers, colloid measurements and modeling, and a deep understanding of magnetic nanoparticle physics. The findings will be culminated in a model for predicting material-relaxivity relationships. Although MRi is already one of the most utilized bioimaging methods, new materials based on rational designs derived from this MWN could lead to methods for tracking stem cells in vivo, better cancer diagnosis through MRi methods that expedite tracking the spread of cancer cells, and improved signal intensities. Our philosophy is to provide students with integrated research/education opportunities and tools to address the science and engineering of polymer nanostructures for diagnostics. The program will expose students to interdisciplinary research in a global context that crosses the traditional boundaries of chemistry, physics, engineering and advanced diagnostics. Our vision is that these students will carry the interdisciplinary teamed approach to creativity and problem-solving into their careers, and that they will exploit this approach to effect change, discover new phenomena, and implement complex and hybrid materials into biotechnology. The MWN is jointly funded by NSF, the Australian Research Council and the Australian International Science Linkage program.