CAREER: Hierarchical self-assembly of photonic devices from patchy colloids: deciphering the reflectin-photonic alphabet

职业：从斑块胶体中分层自组装光子器件：破译反射光子字母表

• 批准号: 1351935
• 负责人: Alison Sweeney
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-07-01 至 2019-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1351935&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Hierarchical; self; assembly; photonic

Non-Technical Abstract:This CAREER Award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research, and co-funded by the Nano-Biosensors Program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (ENG/CBET) to the University of Pennsylvania, is to study the self-assembly of a class of proteins found in molluscan animals. Mollusks are animals such as squids, octopuses, slugs, clams and oysters. Many of these animals are strikingly iridescent, and this iridescence is used for camouflage, for signaling, and in the case of giant clams, for optimization of photosynthesis with symbiotic algae. This project seeks to understand the evolution of these iridescent structures, and to understand how their structures emerge from the proteins that make them. To do this, the PI will use a unique combination of insights from oceanographic animal collections, materials characterization techniques, and molecular dynamics modeling. The hierarchically ordered complexity of these structures often far exceeds the current capabilities of synthetic fabrication, so understanding how animals make these optical materials will provide insight into fabrication of materials with hierarchical length scales smaller than a micron. The education and research activities of this project are well integrated with the PI playing a leading role in developing an introductory physics for life sciences curriculum (IPLS) which is a core need in the Department of Physics at UPenn. Graduate students will receive highly interdisciplinary training in cutting-edge materials characterization techniques as well as biochemistry and biological field work. This award will also fund summer internship for high school students in the Philadelphia public schools who have been identified as scientifically talented via their participation in the University of Pennsylvania's summer physics camp. The goal of these internships is to provide opportunities for research experiences and practical knowledge that help make these students competitive for admission to highly selective colleges and universities. The ultimate goal is to be able increase the number of students interested in STEM careers. Technical Abstract:Molluscan animals such as squids, octopuses and clams build an array of living optical devices of astounding optical/photonic sophistication and complexity, such as structural camouflaging coatings, graded index lenses, solar radiance distributors, and wavelength-specific light guides. Unlike the iridescent structures in fish, butterflies and birds, the "iridocytes" in molluscs are formed from still-living cells, with the high-index portions generated by dense assemblies of protein in the active cytoplasm. These optically resonant cells seem to be allowed more structural diversity than systems in other taxa, and have evolved to solve a wider array of evolutionary optical problems than in any other animal group, such as underwater vision, emissive camouflage, reflective camouflage, and distribution of light for efficient photosynthesis. Several new observations about reflectin proteins and S-crystallins from squids show that "patchy colloids" is the most informative theoretical paradigm for understanding assembly of these living photonic systems. This project will use molecular dynamics modeling, structural characterization, and oceanographic collection to describe whether and how the constituent reflectin proteins making these living photonic systems self-assemble into the observed biophotonic structures.

非技术摘要：该职业奖由材料研究部的生物材料项目颁发，并由宾夕法尼亚大学化学，生物工程，环境和运输系统（ENG/CBET）部门的纳米生物传感器项目共同资助，旨在研究软体动物中发现的一类蛋白质的自组装。 软体动物是像鱿鱼、章鱼、蛞蝓、蛤和牡蛎这样的动物。 这些动物中的许多都是引人注目的彩虹色，这种彩虹色用于伪装，用于信号，在巨型蛤蜊的情况下，用于优化共生藻类的光合作用。 该项目旨在了解这些彩虹色结构的进化，并了解它们的结构如何从制造它们的蛋白质中出现。 为此，PI将使用来自海洋动物收藏，材料表征技术和分子动力学建模的独特见解。 这些结构的层次有序的复杂性往往远远超过目前的合成制造能力，因此了解动物如何制造这些光学材料将提供对制造具有小于一微米的层次长度尺度的材料的洞察。 该项目的教育和研究活动与PI很好地结合在一起，PI在开发生命科学课程（IPLS）的物理学入门方面发挥着主导作用，这是宾夕法尼亚大学物理系的核心需求。 研究生将接受尖端材料表征技术以及生物化学和生物实地工作的高度跨学科培训。该奖项还将资助费城公立学校的高中生暑期实习，这些学生通过参加宾夕法尼亚大学的暑期物理夏令营而被认定为科学天才。这些实习的目标是提供研究经验和实践知识的机会，帮助这些学生有竞争力地进入高度选择性的学院和大学。 最终目标是能够增加对STEM职业感兴趣的学生数量。 技术摘要：软体动物，如鱿鱼，章鱼和蛤建立一个令人震惊的光学/光子复杂性和复杂性，如结构的光老化涂层，渐变折射率透镜，太阳辐射分布器，和波长特定的光导生活光学设备阵列。 与鱼类、蝴蝶和鸟类的虹彩结构不同，软体动物的“虹彩细胞”是由仍然存活的细胞形成的，高指数部分是由活性细胞质中密集的蛋白质组装而成的。这些光学共振细胞似乎比其他类群中的系统允许更多的结构多样性，并且已经进化到解决比任何其他动物群体更广泛的进化光学问题，例如水下视觉，发射伪装，反射伪装和有效光合作用的光分布。对鱿鱼反射蛋白和S-晶体蛋白的几项新观察表明，“斑块状胶体”是理解这些活光子系统组装的最有价值的理论范式。 该项目将使用分子动力学建模，结构表征和海洋学收集来描述组成反射蛋白质是否以及如何使这些活的光子系统自组装成所观察到的生物光子结构。