CAREER: Nanostructured Soft Substrates for Responsive Bioactive Coatings

非技术摘要：这个由材料研究部的生物材料计划授予伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-冠军分校的职业奖项是为了支持阐明生物相容性脂质材料的关键基本特性的研究。这项研究将使纳米结构、药物和核酸的涂层材料的设计成为可能。这项研究的潜在成果可能是能够设计出能够与人体对接的智能材料，通过远程可编程递送系统在正确的位置和预定的时间点提供所需的药物、疫苗、抗生素等，从而治愈伤口、修复骨骼以及输送药物、疫苗、抗生素等。这样的能力可以避免不必要的手术，定期去医院静脉给药，并减少不良副作用。该奖项将把研究活动纳入培训和推广活动，并通过为材料科学女生发展一个以主动学习为基础的中学夏令营，在STEM积极招募代表人数不足的少数族裔学生。此外，该奖项还包括与三个不同人群的外展活动，即中学生和即将入学的研究生以及当地监狱的囚犯。调查人员将在一个研讨会上分享研究结果，该研讨会是教育正义项目的一部分，正在开发的工程领域的医学挑战，该项目为被监禁的个人提供教育机会。事实证明，这一努力对降低囚犯行为不端的比率有很大影响。此外，该计划还提供一个与家庭支持小组相结合的指导计划，可以使囚犯的孩子获得更好的教育成就。技术摘要：该职业奖支持一项研究，该研究旨在阐明由不同基质上的非双层脂层制备的具有生物兼容性的新材料的关键基本特性。凭借这一奖项，研究人员将研究导致高度结构表面沉积的非双层类脂薄膜的分子尺度过程，以用于药物和核酸的输送。该项目的主要目标是：a)了解表面脂类和相关物种的多态；b)微调薄膜纳米结构与下表面和环境线索；以及c)整合表面上的脂膜复合体。该研究人员将改变表面化学、底物几何形状和环境，以确定决定沉积在表面上的脂类药物和脂类核酸络合物的结构和取向的条件。作为这项研究的一部分，研究人员将研究导致高度结构的表面沉积非双层类脂薄膜用于药物和核酸输送的分子尺度过程。在这项工作中，研究人员将结合不同的表征方法，如小角X射线衍射和细胞培养分析，以揭示脂基薄膜在表面自组装的基本理解。这项研究的更广泛的科学影响是可能设计出具有可预测的纳米结构和药物/基因洗脱曲线的设备涂层材料。该奖项将把科学成果纳入宣传和教育，针对三个不同的人群，即中学生和即将入学的研究生，以及当地监狱的囚犯。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:This CAREER award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champion is in support of studies to elucidate key fundamental properties of biocompatible lipid materials. This research would enable the design of coating materials for nanostructures, drugs and nucleic acids. Potential outcome from this research could be the ability to design smart materials that are able to interface with the human body to heal wounds, repair bones, as well as deliver drugs, vaccines, antibiotics, etc., by remotely programmable delivery system with the desired drug load, at the correct location and predetermined time point. Such capabilities could obviate unnecessary surgeries, periodic hospital visits for intravenous drug administration, and reduction in the undesirable side effects. This award will integrate the research activities into training and outreach activities, and include active recruitment of underrepresented minority students in STEM by developing an active-learning based middle-school summer camp for girls in materials science. Additionally, this award included outreach activities with three different populations, namely middle school and incoming graduate students, and inmates at a local prison. The investigator will share the research findings in a workshop about the medical challenges in engineering areas that are being developed as part of the Education Justice Project, which offers educational opportunities to incarcerated individuals. This effort has proven to be of high impact in reducing the rates of inmate misconduct. In addition, this program offers an instructional program combined with family support groups that could result in better educational accomplishments of inmates' children.TECHNICAL SUMMARY:This CAREER award supports a research in the development of studies to elucidate key fundamental properties of novel materials that are biocompatible and prepared from non-bilayer lipids layers on different substrates. With this award, the investigator will study molecular-scale processes leading to highly structured surface deposited non-bilayer lipid thin films for the delivery of drugs and nucleic acids. The main goals of the project are: a) to understand polymorphism of lipid and associated species on surfaces; b) to fine tune film nanostructures with underlying surfaces and environmental cues; and c) to integrate lipid-film complexes on the surface. This investigator will vary surface chemistry, substrate geometry and environment to establish the conditions that decide the structure and orientation of lipid-drug and lipid-nucleic acid complexes deposited onto surfaces. As part of this research, the investigator will study molecular-scale processes leading to highly structured surface deposited non-bilayer lipid thin films for the delivery of drugs and nucleic acids. In this work, the researcher will combine different characterization methods such as Small Angle X-ray Diffraction with cell culture assays to unveil a fundamental understanding of the self-assembly of lipid-based thin-films onto a surface. The scientific broader impacts of this research are possible design of device-coating materials with predictable nanostructures and drug/gene elution profiles. This award will integrate the scientific outcomes into outreach and education, targeting three different populations, namely middle school and incoming graduate students, and inmates at a local prison.