Understanding Interfacial Interactions between Naturally Occurring Zwitterionic Materials and Proteins

控制界面相互作用的能力对于药物/基因递送的有效性、治疗蛋白的保护、基于表面的诊断设备的性能和植入式材料的生物相容性都很重要。开发既能保持蛋白质生物活性又不受污染的材料尤其棘手。提出的研究的新颖之处在于自然发生的多两性离子和蛋白质的非污垢，酶稳定的界面相互作用。本提案旨在解决关键的结构-性质关系，例如离子分离距离，水合作用和反电荷分布及其与酶稳定性的关系。如果成功，这种对两性离子材料的更广泛的理解可以为更好的多功能材料的新型构建块提供指导，并可能对生物材料和生物界面领域产生影响。

The ability to control of interfacial interactions is important for the efficacy of drug/gene delivery, the protection of therapeutic proteins, the performance of surface-based diagnostic devices and the bio-compatibility of implantable materials. It is particularly tricky to develop non-fouling materials that can preserve the bioactivity of proteins at the same time. The novelty of the proposed research is focused on non-fouling, enzyme stabilizing interfacial interactions of naturally occurring poly-zwitterions and proteins. This proposal seeks to address critical structure-property relations, e.g. ion separation distances, hydration and counter-charge distibution and their relation to enzyme stability. If successful, such a broader understanding of zwitterionic materials could provide guidance towards novel building blocks for better multifunctional materials, and could have impact on the field of biomaterials and biointerfaces.