Nanoporous ionic circuits and ionic mimic of a neuron

纳米多孔离子电路和神经元的离子模拟物

• 批准号: 1306058
• 负责人: Zuzanna Siwy
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: University of California-Irvine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-07-01 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1306058&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Nanoporous; ionic; circuits; mimic; neuron

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Siwy and her group at the University of California, Irvine will study ionic and molecular transport through artificial nanopores of fully controlled geometry and surface chemistry. Research will be focused on understanding how interactions between passing species and the walls of nanopores can be harnessed to create interesting systems to guide and amplify ionic and molecular signals. The research is inspired by properties of biological membranes in a cell that contain multiple channels of different functionalities, acting in concert to support physiological functions. Traveling of the nerve signal down an axon and relay of information between neurons, are examples of complex processes, which require multiple pores connected in parallel in nerve cell membranes. The Siwy group will perform fundamental studies on finding conditions in which transport of ions through one nanopore influences ionic and molecular transport through a neighboring pore embedded in the same membrane. They will investigate this issue by systematic varying the distance between two nanopores from a few nm to a micrometer scale. Connecting two nanopores with transport characteristics mimicking properties of potassium and sodium voltage-gated biological channels will result in the preparation of an artificial ionic neuron membrane. The research will use previous findings from the Siwy group on the influence of surface charge and surface charge patterns on the pore walls on ionic and molecular transport.This project will provide interdisciplinary training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students in surface chemistry, nanofabrication, biophysics and biotechnology. The students will learn state of the art fabrication tools to prepare nanopores with an opening diameter as small as 1 nm, tuning chemical properties of nanopore walls, and characterizing the structures electrochemically. The project will also lay fundamental grounds for the formation of synthetic equivalents of biological systems such as neuron, which could be directly applicable in building an artificial cell. The performed research will provide fundamental understanding of the formation of ionic circuits applicable in biological sensors and lab-on-the chip systems. The award has an outreach program that will be realized in collaboration with the Laboratory Experience in Physical Sciences (LEAPS) initiative, created at the University of California, Irvine in spring 2012. A hundred middle and high school students each year will be given an opportunity to visit UC Irvine and the Siwy group to perform experiments visualizing importance of nanotechnology in everyday life.

在这个由化学部高分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，Siwy 教授和她在加州大学欧文分校的团队将研究通过完全受控几何形状和表面化学的人造纳米孔的离子和分子传输。研究重点是了解如何利用通过的物种与纳米孔壁之间的相互作用来创建有趣的系统来引导和放大离子和分子信号。该研究的灵感来自于细胞中生物膜的特性，这些生物膜包含多个不同功能的通道，协同作用以支持生理功能。神经信号沿着轴突传播以及神经元之间的信息传递是复杂过程的例子，这些过程需要在神经细胞膜上并行连接多个孔。 Siwy 小组将进行基础研究，寻找离子通过一个纳米孔的传输影响离子和分子通过嵌入同一膜的相邻孔的传输的条件。他们将通过系统地改变两个纳米孔之间的距离（从几纳米到微米尺度）来研究这个问题。连接两个具有模拟钾和钠电压门控生物通道的传输特性的纳米孔将导致人工离子神经元膜的制备。该研究将利用Siwy小组先前关于表面电荷和孔壁上的表面电荷模式对离子和分子传输的影响的研究结果。该项目将为研究生和本科生提供表面化学、纳米制造、生物物理学和生物技术方面的跨学科培训机会。学生将学习最先进的制造工具来制备开口直径小至 1 nm 的纳米孔，调整纳米孔壁的化学性质，并以电化学方式表征结构。该项目还将为神经元等生物系统的合成等效物的形成奠定基础，这些生物系统可直接应用于构建人造细胞。所进行的研究将为适用于生物传感器和芯片实验室系统的离子电路的形成提供基本的了解。该奖项有一项外展计划，该计划将与 2012 年春季在加州大学欧文分校创建的物理科学实验室体验 (LEAPS) 计划合作实施。每年将有 100 名中学生和高中生有机会参观加州大学欧文分校和 Siwy 小组，进行实验，展示纳米技术在日常生活中的重要性。