EAGER: Novel Bio-inspired 3D Materials for Surface-Active Devices

该研究项目涉及研究一种新型材料，这种材料可以显著提高目前在能源、环境和生物技术领域使用的设备的性能。近几十年来，人口增长、预期寿命延长和快速工业化增加了对水、能源、食品、卫生和保健的需求。例如，美国国家情报委员会（USNIC）估计，到2030年，这些领域的社会需求将增加40-50%。许多这些增加的需求可以通过先进的传感器、催化剂、膜和生物材料来解决，例如，它们可以更容易地从水中去除化学污染物，检测和破坏病原体，并以更高的精度和更低的成本进行更快的化学和生物测试。纳米材料在这种改变游戏规则的应用中显示出巨大的潜力，但它们在实际设备中的应用很少，因为它们很容易逃逸到周围环境中，造成材料损失和环境毒性的高风险。该研究项目通过一种新型材料结构解决了这一难题，该结构将纳米材料的功率和效率与传统固体的安全性、耐久性和可重用性相结合。该项目的具体目标是研究受生物启发的三维表面，将纳米材料的功能优势与传统固体的结构优势结合起来。这些材料可以为定制催化剂、抗菌剂、传感器和/或生物支架提供一种新的多功能平台。设计理念是用地毯状的碳纳米管（CNT）阵列丰富多孔固体基底的表面，这些碳纳米管可以进一步定制纳米级催化剂、传感器和生物分子，以定制它们与周围流体的相互作用。这种结构模仿了天然生物材料，如微绒毛和毛细血管，其中较大的膜支持逐渐变小的专门附着物。这种方法可以在非常紧凑的空间中提供非常高水平的固流相互作用。此外，同一底物的不同区域可以在单个过滤器、反应器或生物工程平台中同时提供多种同时的好处。目前可用的设备不使用这种架构，因为绑定不同的组件会创建多个未知接口，这很复杂。本项目旨在解决这些复杂的问题，并通过以下研究任务探索合成此类材料用于催化，信号检测和细胞支架的固流相互作用的可能性：(1)研究多孔固体上的纳米地毯，以及它们对不同流体的亲和力；(2)层次表面化学催化反应的研究；(3)了解纳米地毯与肽和活细胞的生物相互作用。在进行研究的同时，正在为本科生、科学教师、社区领袖以及政府政策人员制定教育和外联内容。

This research project involves studying a new class of materials that can significantly improve the performance of currently available devices used in the energy, environmental, and biotech sectors of the economy. In recent decades, population growth, higher life expectancy and rapid industrialization have increased needs for water, energy, food, sanitation, and health care. For instance, the United States National Intelligence Council (USNIC) estimates that by 2030, societal demand in these areas will increase by 40-50%. Many of these increased demands can be addressed by advanced sensors, catalysts, membranes, and biomaterials that can, for instance, make it easier to remove chemical pollutants from water, detect and destroy pathogens, and carry out faster chemical and biological tests with improved precision and lower cost. Nanomaterials show great potential for such game-changing applications, but their use in actual devices has been rare, since they can easily escape into the surroundings posing high risk of material loss and environmental toxicity. This research project addresses this dilemma with a novel materials architecture that combines the power and efficiency of nanomaterials with the safety, durability and reusability of conventional solids. The specific goal of the project is to investigate bioinspired three-dimensional surfaces that combine the functional advantages of nanomaterials with the structural advantages of conventional solids. Such materials can provide a novel multifunctional platform for custom-tailored catalysts, antimicrobial agents, sensors and/or bio-scaffolds. The design concept is to enrich the surface of porous solid substrates with carpet-like arrays of carbon nanotubes (CNT) that can be further customized with nanoscale catalysts, sensors and biomolecules for tailoring their interaction with surrounding fluids. This architecture mimics natural biological materials such as microvilli and capillaries, where the larger membrane supports progressively smaller specialized attachments. This approach can offer exceptionally high levels of solid-fluid interaction in very compact space. Moreover, different regions of the same substrate can concurrently provide multiple simultaneous benefits in a single filter, reactor, or bio-engineering platform. Currently available devices do not use this architecture, due to the complexities of bonding dissimilar components that create multiple unknown interfaces. This project addresses these complex issues, and explores the possibility of synthesizing such materials for solid-fluid interactions involving catalysis, signal detection and cell scaffolding through the following research tasks: (1) investigation of nano-carpets on porous solids, and their affinity for different fluids; (2) study of chemical & catalytic reactions at hierarchical surfaces; and (3) understanding biological interaction of nano-carpets with peptides and living cells. In parallel with the research, education and outreach components are being developed for undergraduates, science teachers, community leaders as well as governmental policy personnel.