Design of Stimuli-Sensitive Organic Nanoparticles through Self-Assembly

在这个由化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，位于阿默斯特的马萨诸塞州大学的Sankaran Thayumanavan将开发通过聚合物自组装组装有机纳米颗粒的方法。 这项研究将包括三个组成部分。 在第一部分中，该项目将专注于开发具有明确表面特征的有机纳米颗粒。 在第二部分中，将使用纳米颗粒的明确定义的表面官能团和聚合物中存在的互补官能团生成聚合物-纳米颗粒复合物。 最后一部分将涉及开发的策略，引发荧光变化的聚合物-纳米粒子复合物由于大的分析物分子的存在。 该项目的更广泛的影响将涉及本科生和研究生的跨学科培训，通过交叉培训学生不仅跨越化学的子学科，而且跨越其他科学学科，将看到该项目的影响。 该项目还将通过参与东北研究生教育和教授联盟计划，帮助扩大代表性不足的群体在STEM研究中的参与。 纳米技术在当今技术的不同领域的影响始于合成具有明确定义的表面的明确定义的纳米尺寸物体（纳米颗粒）的能力。 该研究项目旨在开发合成功能性纳米颗粒的新方法，这些纳米颗粒可以与蛋白质结合形成复杂材料或产生可观察到的信号。 这样的纳米颗粒可能会导致多功能传感技术，从而影响生物技术。

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Sankaran Thayumanavan of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst will develop methods for assembling organic nanoparticles through polymer self-assembly. The research will involve three components. In the first part, the project will focus on the development of organic nanoparticles with well-defined surface characteristics. In the second part, polymer-nanoparticle complexes will be generated using the well-defined surface functional groups of the nanoparticle and the complementary functional groups present in the polymer. The final part will involve development of strategies for eliciting fluorescence changes in the polymer-nanoparticle complexes due to the presence of large analyte molecules. The broader impacts of this project will involve interdisciplinary training of undergraduate and graduate students by cross-training the students not only across the sub-disciplines of chemistry, but also across other scientific disciplines that will see the impacts of this project. The project will also assist in broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM research via participation in the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and Professoriate program. Nanotechnology's impact in diverse areas of present day technology starts with the ability to synthesize well-defined nanometer-sized objects (nanoparticles) with well-defined surfaces. This research project seeks to develop fundamentally new ways of synthesizing functional nanoparticles that can bind with proteins to form complex materials or to generate observable signals. Such nanoparticles could lead to versatile sensing technologies that could impact biotechnology.