CAREER: Biomimetic Self-assembly of Polymer-inorganic Hybrid Nanocompartments with Biomedical Delivery Applications

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TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Innovative functional hybrid nanomaterials may offer a new generation of highly selective and effective therapeutics and diagnostics for human health. The goal of this award is to synthesize a new class of polymer-inorganic vesicular hybrids for drug delivery through polymer-assisted nanoparticle self-assembly. These functional vesicular hybrids mimic viral capsids from the aspects of size, surface patch, surface topology, and mechanical properties, thus facilitating their functions in medical delivery. Each building block of polymer-tethered nanoparticles in the assemblies serves as a polymeric brick to uniquely define the local physical and chemical cues on the membrane surface of vesicular hybrids at the nanoscale. This strategy enables the preparation of vesicular hybrids with critical features required by biomedical delivery, including (1) tailored permeability, surface functionality, surface topology, and mechanical properties, (2) tunable inherent or new synergetic properties of inorganic components due to significantly enhanced ordering and weight fraction of inorganic nanoparticles in the assemblies, (3) remote-controlled release of encapsulated cargo in addition to imaging and manipulation capability while preserving the original unique functionalities of the polymer ligands. The objectives of this proposal are: (1) to understand and control the construction of vesicular hybrids with well-defined tunable surface patches, surface topology, and mechanical properties at the nanoscale; (2) to design multicompartment vesicular hybrids and systems that respond to external stimuli including pH, temperature, light, and potentially electromagnetic field; (3) to explore the encapsulation of drug compounds in vesicular hybrids and study the kinetics of remote-controlled release of cargo. NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:Polymer-inorganic hybrid nanocompartments with highly organized, topologically complex surfaces have important applications ranging from healthcare and medicine (e.g., imaging contrast agents and drug delivery vesicles) to optoelectronics. The proposed program will develop new robust multifunctional hybrid compartments to address current challenges in biomedical delivery, explore a new class of remote-controlled responsive materials, and provide new insights into polymer-assisted self-assembly of inorganic nanoparticles. This award will allow the PI to integrate interdisciplinary research on biomimetic polymer-inorganic hybrids with education of students at the graduate, undergraduate, and high-school levels. The goal is to give students a competitive edge in both academia and industry, and to help them become leaders in these new and emerging research fields. The proposed outreach program seeks to: i) incorporate current advances in emerging research fields into curriculum development such as laboratory design at both graduate and undergraduate levels, ii) recruit and train students particularly under-represented groups at both graduate and undergraduate levels, iii) create a mentoring program aimed at interested high school students, and iv) bring advanced educational science demonstrations to classrooms.