Development of unimolecular antibacterial nanomaterials

非技术性：材料研究部授予南佛罗里达大学的这一奖项是为了开发新型抗菌纳米材料。由于在治疗微生物疾病方面出现了新的耐药性，开发新的抗菌材料至关重要。低成本的聚合物材料很有吸引力。然而，目前可用的聚合物的抗菌活性充其量是中等的。本项目旨在设计一种新型的单分子抗菌纳米材料，具有更好的广谱活性。通过新颖的设计、合成和机理研究，这些研究有望开发出更有效的抗菌剂。这些新型材料可以在不同的条件下用于各种抗菌应用。这个项目是高度跨学科的，涵盖了尖端化学、微生物学和生物材料。从事这项研究的研究生和本科生都有望获得不同的专业知识和经验。该项目的成功成果有望促进国家利益，因为它将促进科学进步，促进美国公民的健康和福利，并潜在地改善国家生物防御。技术：由于不同疾病患者中出现了抗生素耐药性，开发新型、有效、广谱、低成本、不易产生耐药性的抗菌生物材料至关重要。为此，该奖项将设计基于树枝状大分子的阳离子纳米材料，具有不同的官能团，并控制电荷密度和分布。本项目的目标是：1)设计和合成具有不同功能基团的纳米胶束，并控制电荷密度和分布；2)评估正在开发的纳米材料对一组重要的革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌的抗菌活性和选择性；以及3)调查正在开发的这些新材料的抗菌活性机理，重点是正在研究的新型纳米胶束的细菌膜破坏和杀菌性能。该项目是高度跨学科的，涵盖了尖端合成化学、微生物学、生物材料、生物物理学和生物化学。具有不同科学兴趣和背景的研究生和本科生都将通过该奖项进行的研究获得极好的学习经验。

Non-technical:This award by the Division of Materials Research to University of South Florida is to develop novel antibacterial nanomaterials. Due to the emerging resistance in the treatment of microbial diseases, development of new antimicrobial materials is of vital importance. Low-cost polymer-based materials are attractive. However, antimicrobial activity of currently available polymers is at best moderate. This project is to design a new class of unimolecular antibacterial nanomaterials with improved broad-spectrum activity. Through novel design, synthesis and mechanistic studies, more potent antimicrobial agents are expected with the proposed studies. These novel materials can be used for a variety of antimicrobial applications under different conditions. This project is highly interdisciplinary, and embraces cutting-edge chemistry, microbiology, and biomaterials. Both graduate and undergraduate students working in this research are expected to gain diverse expertise and experience. The successful outcome of this project is expected to advance the national interest because it will promote the scientific progress, advance the health and welfare of the U.S. citizens, and potentially improve the national biodefense.Technical:Due to the emerging antibiotic resistance among patients with different diseases, development of novel, potent and broad-spectrum, and low-cost antimicrobial biomaterials with less probability to develop drug-resistance is critical. To this end, this award will design dendrimer-based cationic nanomaterials with diverse functional groups, and controlled charge densities and distributions. The aims of this project are: 1) design and synthesis of nano-micelles with diverse functional groups, and controlled charge densities and distributions; 2) evaluation of the antibacterial activity and selectivity of the nanomaterials being developed against a panel of significant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria; and 3) investigation of the mechanism for antimicrobial activity of these novel materials being developed with a focus on bacterial membrane disruption and bactericidal properties of the novel nano-micelles being studied. The project is highly interdisciplinary and embraces cutting-edge synthetic chemistry, microbiology, biomaterials, biophysics, and biochemistry. Both graduate and undergraduate students, with diverse scientific interests and backgrounds, will gain excellent learning experience with the studies carried out with this award.