Research Initiation Award: Surface modification of thiol-terminated silicon to build reusable antifouling layer

历史上的黑人学院和大学本科项目（HBCU-UP）研究启动奖（RIAs）为hbcu中开始建立研究项目的STEM初级教师提供支持，也为那些在担任行政职务后可能已经回到教职员工队伍或需要重新定向和重建研究项目的职业中期教师提供支持。教师可以在自己的学校、美国国家科学基金会资助的中心、研究密集型机构或国家实验室进行研究。RIA项目将有助于进一步提高教师的研究能力和效率，改善其所在机构的研究和教学，并使本科生参与研究经验。在国家科学基金会的支持下，潘恩学院将进行研究，开发抗生物污染的表面。该项目将提高PI的研究能力以及潘恩学院的教学和学习。该项目将为本科生提供研究机会和提高化学技能。这种经历将有助于培养本科生的能力，并支持国家建立一支强大的STEM劳动力队伍的努力。本研究将研究一种方法，通过二硫键将分子与防污官能团连接起来，从而允许硫醇端表面被使用和再利用。具体目标是：1)工程硅基薄膜防污功能化；2)确定化学改性基材的防污功能。该项目的研究结果将为硅表面改性提供新的知识。该方法可用于其他材料（如碳基材料）的表面改性。表面修饰技术的发展也可用于在硅或碳表面构建具有纳米级特征的蛋白质阵列。该项目的成果可以转移到航运和生物医学行业，并成为降低与污染相关成本的解决方案。该项目将与马歇尔大学和北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校合作进行。

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Research Initiation Awards (RIAs) provide support to STEM junior faculty at HBCUs who are starting to build a research program, as well as for mid-career faculty who may have returned to the faculty ranks after holding an administrative post or who needs to redirect and rebuild a research program. Faculty members may pursue research at their home institution, at an NSF-funded Center, at a research intensive institution or at a national laboratory. The RIA projects are expected to help further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, to improve research and teaching at his or her home institution, and to involve undergraduate students in research experiences. With support from the National Science Foundation, Paine College will conduct research to develop bio-fouling resistant surfaces. The project will enhance the research capabilities of the PI as well as teaching and learning at Paine College. The project will provide undergraduate students with research opportunities and advance skills in chemistry. This experience will help to build the competency of the undergraduate students and support the nation's efforts in building a robust STEM workforce. This study will investigate an approach that will allow thiol-terminated surfaces to be used and re-used by attaching molecules with antifouling functional groups via a disulfide bond. The specific objectives are to: 1) engineer silicon-based thin films for antifouling functionalization; and 2) confirm antifouling function of chemically modified substrates. Findings from this project will provide new knowledge on silicon surface modification. This approach may be used for the modification of surfaces of other materials, such as carbon-based materials. The development of techniques for surface modification also can be used for building protein arrays with nano-sized features on silicon or carbon surfaces. The results of this project may be transferable to the shipping and biomedical industries, and become a solution to reduce the costs associated with fouling. This project will be conducted in collaboration with Marshall University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.