CAREER: Creation of Complex Biomimetic Materials via Molecular Recognition

这项由康涅狄格大学材料研究部生物材料项目颁发的职业奖项旨在创造基于新型水凝胶的新一代组织状生物材料，这些水凝胶与核酸适配子一起功能化，可能将这些水凝胶用作细胞外基质的合成模拟物。能够概括自然组织复杂功能的生物材料不仅可以更深入地了解生物系统，而且还可以提供组织修复或器官再生等多种应用。建议的研究包括核酸适配子功能化聚合物和水凝胶的合成和表征；亲和聚合物与其不同界面靶标之间的分子识别研究；以及适配子和分子触发器在调节水凝胶释放多种信号分子中的作用。来自组织状生物材料的众多信号的协调有望决定细胞是否经历增殖、迁移、分化或其他关键功能。教育活动旨在激发未来学生对科学和工程的热情和兴趣，鼓励不同水平的学生学习尖端纳米生物技术技术和21世纪的技能组合，并使纳米生物技术知识不仅向该领域的学者和学生广泛传播，而且向普通公众和未来的学生传播。组织工程和再生医学是一个很有前途的领域，它将多学科的原理一起应用于组织修复或器官再生。然而，这一领域的挑战之一是创造出有望模仿人体组织复杂结构和功能的新型材料。这项拟议的研究旨在开发具有多种功能的组织状材料，包括与人类细胞的通信。这些具有官能团的合成聚合物具有很强的刺激组织修复或器官再生的潜力。教育外展工作将与各种教学和外展活动相结合，如培训高中生和教师，开发和教授一门新课程，以及建立一个传播纳米生物技术知识的科普网站。从K-12到研究生的不同水平的学生将在鼓励和合作的环境中进行研究，学习尖端纳米生物技术和其他相关领域的科学和工程。

This Career award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to University of Connecticut aims to create a new generation of tissue-like biomaterials based on novel hydrogels that are functionalized with nucleic acid aptamers for potential use of these hydrogels as synthetic mimics of extracellular matrix. Biomaterials that can recapitulate complex functions of natural tissues will not only provide a deeper insight into biological systems, but also offer a variety of applications such as tissue repair or organ regeneration. The proposed studies include synthesis and characterization of polymers and hydrogels that are functionalized with nucleic acid aptamers; study of the molecular recognition between affinity polymers and their targets at different interfaces; and investigation of the roles of aptamers and molecular triggers in regulating the release of multiple signal molecules from hydrogels. The coordination of numerous signals from the tissue-like biomaterials is expected to determine whether cells undergo proliferation, migration, differentiation, or other critical functions. The educational activities will be pursued to stimulate prospective students' passion and interests in science and engineering; encourage the students of different levels to learn both cutting-edge nanobiotechnology techniques and 21st century skill sets; and enable the broad dissemination of nanobiotechnology knowledge not only to scholars and students in the field, but also to the general public and prospective students.Tissue loss or organ failure is one of the most challenging health problems in the biomedical field. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is a promising field that applies the principles of multiple disciplines together towards tissue repair or organ regeneration. However, one of the challenges in this field is the creation of novel materials that are expected to mimic the complex structures and functionality of human tissues. The proposed research is designed to develop tissue-like materials that possess multiple features including communication with human cells. These synthetic polymers with functional groups hold strong potential of stimulating tissue repair or organ regeneration. The educational outreach efforts will be coupled with diverse teaching and outreach activities such as the training of high-school students and teachers, the development and teaching of a new course, and the establishment of a popular science website for the dissemination of nanobiotechnology knowledge. The students of different levels from K-12 to graduate studies will pursue research in an encouraging and collaborative environment, learning cutting-edge nanobiotechnology and other related fields in sciences and engineering.