SNM: Continuous, Large-Scale Nanocomposite Production Via Micellular Electrospray

这项拨款为建立新的方法和设备提供资金，以生产用于生物医学应用的纳米复合材料，以增加产量，直接转化为工业。这种新的合成方法将结合电喷雾（一种自上而下的连续喷涂过程）和自组装（一种自下而上自发发生的过程）。将检查三种设备配置，以优化颗粒形成速度（即动力学）与颗粒质量（即热力学）的比例。这一进程将与科学传播方面的专家合作制定，以确保在制定进程设计时将适当的社会、伦理和环境健康与安全考虑纳入其中。这一过程的结果将在两个工业试验台进行评估，重点是生物医学成像和分离。如果成功，这项研究将通过提供纳米复合材料形成的连续制造策略，解决纳米复合材料商业化的关键障碍。因为电喷雾液滴的形态是严格控制的，这种方法应该能够更好地控制过程，改善颗粒的均匀性、再现性和规模。本研究将研究三种具有强大商业化潜力的纳米复合材料：复合磁性纳米颗粒、复合量子点（QDs）和磁性量子点，它们在生物医学成像、临床诊断和药物分离方面具有潜在的应用前景。然而，这种方法可以用来制造含有任何比纳米容器小的疏水成分的复合材料，从而可以影响包括电子、光学和能源在内的各种领域。两个杰出的非营利性教育合作伙伴：Edheads，屡获殊荣的教育网页游戏制作人，以及波士顿科学博物馆，NSF纳米非正式科学教育（NISE）网络的领导者，将广泛分享我们为安全商业化新纳米复合材料产品所做的努力。

This grant provides funding to establish new methods and equipment to produce nanocomposites for biomedical applications at increased volume for direct translation to industry. This new synthesis method will combine electrospray, a top-down, continuous spraying process, with self-assembly, a bottom-up process that occurs spontaneously. Three equipment configurations will be examined to optimize the ratio of particle formation speed (i.e., kinetics) to particle quality (i.e., thermodynamics). This process will be developed in collaboration with experts in science communication to ensure that appropriate societal, ethical, and environmental health and safety considerations are integrated into the process design as it is being developed. The results of this process will be evaluated in two industrial test-beds focusing on biomedical imaging and separations.If successful, this research will addresses critical roadblocks in nanocomposite commercialization by providing a continuous manufacturing strategy for nanocomposite formation. Because electrospray droplet morphology is tightly controlled, this method should enable greater process control and improved particle uniformity, reproducibility, and scale. This research will study three nanocomposites with strong commercialization potential: composite magnetic nanoparticles, composite quantum dots (QDs), and magnetic QDs, which have potential applications in biomedical imaging, clinical diagnostics, and pharmaceutical separations. However, this approach could be used to manufacture composites containing any hydrophobic components smaller than the nanocontainer, and could thus impact a diverse range of fields including electronics, optics, and energy. Broad sharing of our endeavor to safely commercialize new nanocomposite products will be undertaken by two outstanding non-profit educational partners: Edheads, award-winning education web game producers, and the Museum of Science, Boston, lead of the NSF Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network.