CAREER: Creating Materials via Active Self-Assembly Driven by Biomolecular Motors

职业：通过生物分子马达驱动的主动自组装创造材料

• 批准号: 1015486
• 负责人: Henry Hess
• 金额: $ 30.63万
• 依托单位: Columbia University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-01 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1015486&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Creating; Materials; via; Active

This Career award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to University of Florida is to support studies in understanding the crucial first steps towards assembling strained and non-equilibrium structures which significantly expand the accessible design space in nanotechnology. The objective of the program is to show that the current boundaries of self-assemblies can be dramatically expanded by biomolecular motors. Specifically, the proposed studies will be shown that biomolecular motors can: (1) accelerate self-assembly; (2) generate non-equilibrium structures; (3) impose an assembly hierarchy; (4) assemble macroscopic structures from nanoscale building blocks; and (5) integrate synthetic building blocks. To this end, the project utilizes a carefully crafted combination of experiments, theory, and computer simulations to generate insights into the dynamics of a model system, which is based on functionalized microtubules gliding and self assembling on kinesin motor-coated surfaces. Using taxol-stabilized and biotinylated microtubules as building blocks ranging in size from 1 micrometer to 50 micrometer in length will be prepared. The assembly of biotinylated microtubules partially covered with streptavidin will be conducted on kinesin-coated and lipid layer-coated surfaces to compare motor-driven and diffusion-driven assemblies respectively. The goal of the program is to formulate the rules governing these "activated" self-assembly processes. These insights will impact the synthesis of nanostructures with applications in molecular electronics and adaptive materials, and will also dramatically further our understanding of the role of biomolecular motors in the assembly of biological materials. By dissecting the processes of hierarchical assembly and the integration of synthetic building blocks, it would be possible that a large number of independent transporters in combination with a basic set of interaction rules can assemble complex structures with sizes orders of magnitude larger than the individual transporter. This represents a biomimetic approach to the rapid assembly of nanoscale building blocks into complex nano- and mesoscale structures, which marries self-assembly principles with the controlled generation of molecular forces by nanomachines. The nanomachines of choice are biomolecular motors, which can efficiently convert chemical energy into mechanical work. A cellular automaton-based approach will be used to model the dynamics of the system, and assemble a software package to provide a general modeling tool for molecular motor-based self-assembly. The research project spans the interface between the life sciences and engineering, drawing inspirations and materials from biology and quantitative approaches and applications from engineering. Two innovative activities are proposed to integrate research and teaching: (1) Development of a software program in collaborative with computer scientists to visualize thermal motion in experiments that are being developed, and this visualization is to provide an improved view into the nanoworld. In addition to visualizing the systems, the software will build a game, which lets the player act in a nanoworld buffeted by thermal motion; and (2) Interdisciplinary training of undergraduate students through international collaborations and interactions, which will be expanded on existing collaborations of the PI through a program for international research experiences for undergraduate students at University of Florida in Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain and Japan.

生物材料计划在佛罗里达大学的材料研究部门获得的职业奖是为了支持理解组装紧张和非平衡结构的关键第一步，这些步骤大大扩大了纳米技术中可访问的设计空间。该程序的目的是表明，可以通过生物分子电动机大大扩展自组件的当前边界。具体而言，拟议的研究将表明，生物分子电动机可以：（1）加速自组装； （2）产生非平衡结构； （3）施加集会层次结构； （4）从纳米级构建块组装宏观结构； （5）整合合成构建块。 为此，该项目利用实验，理论和计算机模拟的精心制作的组合来生成对模型系统动力学的见解，该动力基于功能化的微管滑行和自我组装在驱动蛋白运动涂层的表面上。 使用紫杉醇稳定的和生物素化的微管作为构建块，尺寸从1微米到50千分尺，将制备。将分别在运动蛋白涂层和脂质层涂层的表面上进行部分覆盖的生物素化微管的组装，分别比较运动驱动和扩散驱动的组件。 该计划的目的是制定管理这些“激活”自组装过程的规则。这些见解将影响纳米结构在分子电子和适应性材料中的应用，也将显着进一步进一步了解我们对生物分子电动机在生物材料组装中的作用的理解。 通过解剖层次组件的过程和合成构建块的整合，可能会与大量的独立转运蛋白与一组基本的相互作用规则结合使用，可以组装出比单个转运蛋白大的数量级的复杂结构。 这代表了纳米级构建块快速组装成复杂的纳米尺度和中尺度结构的仿生方法，该结构将自组装原理与纳米机器受控的分子力相结合。选择的纳米机器是生物分子电动机，可以有效地将化学能转化为机械工作。 基于蜂窝自动机的方法将用于建模系统的动力学，并组装软件包，以提供基于分子运动的自组装的一般建模工具。 该研究项目跨越了生命科学与工程学之间的界面，从生物学以及工程学的定量方法和应用中汲取了灵感和材料。提出了两项​​创新的活动来整合研究和教学：（1）与计算机科学家合作开发软件程序，以可视化正在开发的实验中的热运动，并且这种可视化是为了对纳米诺夫世界提供改进的视图。除了可视化系统外，该软件还将构建一个游戏，该游戏使玩家可以用热运动燃烧的纳米世界行动； （2）通过国际合作和互动对本科生的跨学科培训，这将通过针对佛罗里达大学德国，瑞士，英国，英国和日本的本科生的国际研究经验计划扩展PI的现有合作。