Self Assembly and Controlled Folding of Emulsion Polymers

非技术性摘要传统上，制造机器的装配线，从电子电路到机动车辆，都遵循非常具体的说明手册，然后是机器人或人。另一方面，在生物学中，生物体根据其基因中编码的指令自发地自我组装--遵循物理定律。受生物学启发，该项目用特定的DNA相互作用修饰微观油滴，引导它们自发组装成复杂的3D结构。这些结构从不寻常的晶体到螺旋结构，由于它们与光的相互作用，具有令人兴奋的光学性质。这些液滴可以很容易地固化，因此它们提供了一种可编程的、无需干预的制造方法，并获得了所需材料的高产量。该项目旨在从根本上解释导致生命的组织原理，这个简单的模型系统将被用作BioBus移动实验室的教育工具，既作为实验演示，也作为思维实验。技术摘要该计划的目标是使用生物分子，特别是脂质和DNA链，使乳剂功能化，以自组装任意设计的结构，这些结构很容易固化。这一多功能系统允许我们控制液滴之间相互作用的流动性、特异性、价态和逻辑编程，这反过来又促进了复杂结构的组装，包括乳液聚合物、环和折叠构型。在这个项目中，我们建议1)使用多种口味的DNA嫁接到乳剂上来在微观尺度上对物质的结构进行编程，2)研究路径的折叠动力学以寻找组织原理，3)使用组装的组件进一步组装成大规模材料。这种“串珠”实验模型类似于分子水平上的蛋白质折叠，但提供了折叠时链条动力学的可视化途径。该项目的一个主要目标是在实验室内外整合科学教育和研究。除了培训参与研究的高中生、本科生和研究生外，PI还参加世界科学节，并是名为BioBase的科学教育机构的创始成员，该机构为来自所有社会经济背景的学生提供符合标准的学校日常实地考察和夏令营项目的研究级显微镜设施。

Non-technical AbstractTraditionally, assembly lines to build machines, from electronic circuits to motor vehicles, follow very specific instruction manuals, followed by robots or people. On the other hand, in biology, organisms self-assemble spontaneously according to the instructions encoded in their genes - following the laws of physics. Inspired by biology, this project embellishes microscopic oil droplets with specific DNA interactions that guide their spontaneous assembly into complex, 3D architectures. These structures range from unusual crystals to helices with exciting optical properties due to their interaction with light. These droplets can readily be solidified, therefore they offer a route to programmable, hands-off manufacturing, with high yield of the desired material. The project aims to explain on a fundamental level the principles of organization that led to life, and this simple model system will be used as an educational tool on the mobile labs of the Biobus, both as an experimental demonstration and as a thought experiment.Technical AbstractThe objective of this proposal is to use biological molecules, particularly lipids and DNA strands, to functionalize emulsions in order to self-assemble arbitrarily designed structures, which can readily be solidified. This versatile system allows us to control the fluidity, specificity, valency, and logical programming of interactions between droplets, which in turn facilitates the assembly of complex structures, including emulsion polymers, loops and folded configurations. In this project, we propose 1) to use multiple flavors of DNA grafted on emulsions to program the structure of matter on the micro-scale, 2) to study the folding dynamics of the pathways in search of organizing principles and 3) to use the assembled components for further assembly into large-scale materials. This 'beads-on-a-string' experimental model is analogous to protein folding on the molecular scale, but provides visual access to the chain dynamics as it folds. A major goal of this project is to integrate science education and research within the laboratory and beyond. Apart from training high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students that participate in the research, the PI participates in the World Science Festival and is a founding member of a science education facility called the Biobase, which provides school students from all socioeconomic backgrounds with a research grade microscopy facility for standards-aligned school day field trips and summer camp programs.