Research Initiation Award: Thermodynamic Phase Separation in a Living, Active Matter System

研究启动奖：活性物质系统中的热力学相分离

• 批准号: 1665004
• 负责人: Chih-Kuan Tung
• 金额: $ 29.99万
• 依托单位: North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-03-15 至 2023-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1665004&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; Initiation; Award; Thermodynamic; Phase

Research Initiation Awards provide support for faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building a research program. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improves research and teaching at his home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences. The award to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has potential broader and societal impact in a number of areas. The project seeks to investigate the dynamics of active matter systems. The research crosses the fields of mathematics, physics, and biology. Undergraduate students will gain research experiences and the research will be integrated in a number of biophysics courses. The project will also contribute to the development of a Biological Physics Concentration at the university.Unlike ensembles traditionally discussed in Statistical Mechanics research, active matter systems consist of objects that consume energy and propel themselves, and thus are never in equilibrium. Building on the discovery of bull sperm collective dynamics in viscoelastic fluids, this project focuses on using experiments to quantify and understand the phenomenology of phase separation in active matter systems. The primary objective of this project is to map out the coexistence curve of clustered and isolated phases. The research goal will be approached by two methods: a "pressure" based method that involves building a microfluidic device to increase cell density, and a "temperature" based method, in which the relative strengths of alignment and randomizing factors are tuned by changing fluid properties. Findings from this project will answer fundamental thermodynamics questions, such as how to quantify parameters like pressure or temperature in a living active matter system, and how to formulate an equivalent equation of state. Moreover, since viscoelastic fluids are naturally present in the mammalian female reproductive tract, this project would also help to understand the regulation and mechanisms of sperm movement. The results provide underlying basic science knowledge that could potentially be used to improve animal husbandry.

研究启动奖为历史上黑人学院和大学的教师提供支持，他们正在建立一个研究项目。预计该奖项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。授予北卡罗来纳州农业和技术州立大学的奖项在许多领域具有潜在的更广泛的社会影响。该项目旨在研究活性物质系统的动力学。这项研究跨越了数学、物理学和生物学领域。本科生将获得研究经验，研究将被纳入一些生物物理学课程。该项目还将有助于大学生物物理专业的发展。与统计力学研究中传统讨论的合奏不同，活性物质系统由消耗能量并推动自身的物体组成，因此永远不会处于平衡状态。 基于粘弹性流体中公牛精子集体动力学的发现，该项目侧重于使用实验来量化和理解活性物质系统中相分离的现象学。 本计画的主要目的是绘制出群集相与孤立相的共存曲线。研究目标将通过两种方法来实现：一种是基于“压力”的方法，涉及构建微流体装置以增加细胞密度，另一种是基于“温度”的方法，其中通过改变流体特性来调整对齐和随机化因子的相对强度。 该项目的发现将回答基本的热力学问题，例如如何量化活性物质系统中的压力或温度等参数，以及如何制定等效的状态方程。 此外，由于粘弹性流体天然存在于哺乳动物雌性生殖道中，因此该项目也将有助于了解精子运动的调节和机制。 研究结果提供了潜在的基础科学知识，可用于改善畜牧业。

项目成果

Computer-assisted beat-pattern analysis and the flagellar waveforms of bovine spermatozoa

计算机辅助搏动模式分析和牛精子鞭毛波形

• DOI: 10.1098/rsos.200769
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Royal Society Open Science
• 影响因子: 3.5
• 作者: Walker, Benjamin J.;Phuyal, Shiva;Ishimoto, Kenta;Tung, Chih-Kuan;Gaffney, Eamonn A.
• 通讯作者: Gaffney, Eamonn A.