US-Taiwan Planning Visit: Interrogating Nanodiamond-Cellular Interactions

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The goal of this proposal is to bring together expertise from researchers in the US and Taiwan to study how nanodiamonds, promising carbon particles that have been shown to markedly improve the safety and efficiency of molecular imaging and other applications, fundamentally interact with biological systems. The ability to examine the basic biological response to novel materials remains an important need in the bioengineering, materials science, chemistry and engineering education communities, among many others. The information gleaned from these studies can improve materials design principles for a broad array of applications. This work will enable rational design and chemical modification of the unique nanodiamond surfaces to realize improved biocompatibility and insight into how cells respond following exposure to these agents. This study will result in broad impact upon improving the safety and thus widespread implementation of nanodiamonds.A major part of this project is developing novel K-12 teaching materials, specifically a nanodiamond-themed comic book. Graphic materials are a great way to facilitate student learning of complex topics, and will help inspire a new generation to explore future careers in science and engineering. Specifically, a team of graduate students and the academic coordinator of UCLA will partner with Taiwanese collaborators to create the Nanodiamond Nora and Neal storyline. The Nanodiamond Nora and Neal will serve as the main characters of the book which will highlight their story from serving as engine abrasives to journeying into cells as explorers. Nora and Neal will be mentored by young scientists during the course of their journey. Technical AbstractNanodiamonds have emerged as promising materials for fundamental biological investigations. The faceted nature of the truncated octahedral nanodiamond surfaces results in unique physical-chemical properties that mediate marked improvements in the efficacy and safety of molecular imaging agents. These properties include the ability to coordinate water, a key requirement for optimizing imaging contrast. As such, nanodiamond-based imaging has uniquely resulted in among the highest efficiencies compared to all nanoparticle compounds. Given their promise as nano-labeling materials, it is becoming increasingly important to better understand the mechanisms that underlie nanodiamond-cell interactions. This work aims to bring together a team of collaborators to provide the most comprehensive study to date of how broad classes of nanodiamonds (amine, carboxyl-functionalized, fluorescent/N-V center, etc.) interact with cells. Methodologies such as caspase assays, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, viability assays, and lactate dehydrogenase assays will be implemented to provide new fundamental mechanistic insight into the biological response to particle exposure. Furthermore, CyTOF, a powerful single cell investigation platform that enables multi-pathway interaction assays will provide the most elaborate view to date of how cell signaling components crosstalk to collectively govern cell behavior. This work will play a major role in technically training future scientific and engineering leaders.