Biomolecular Materials: Structure, Phase behavior, and Interactions

该奖项由加州大学圣巴巴拉分校（UCSB）材料研究部生物材料项目颁发，旨在全面了解源自神经元的生物蛋白分子之间的力的本质，以及这些力如何反过来负责创造神经元中发现的各种不同结构。每一种不同的结构都负责定义明确的细胞功能，包括细胞用于交流的分子机制。该项目的意义在于，从实验结果中获得的知识将允许人们开始澄清神经元内部细胞骨架结构破坏的潜在分子原因，这种情况导致细胞退化。这些获得的知识将允许更大的科学界设计防止细胞退化的策略。这项研究活动旨在教育和培训研究生、本科生和博士后研究人员，使他们掌握现代科学和工程方法，并使参与者获得在学术界、国家实验室和工业中从事职业所需的技能。该项目的研究人员参与了加州大学圣巴巴拉分校与社区学院以及圣巴巴拉以外的学院和大学的广泛外展项目。这些项目包括：美国国家科学基金会资助的材料研究科学与工程中心外展项目、科学与工程研究实习项目、先进材料未来领导者项目、加州少数民族参与联盟以及教师研究体验项目。技术摘要：该提案的目标是发展对细胞骨架蛋白共组装混合物的结构，相互作用和相行为的基本理解，这些混合物的组成跨越了神经元不同隔室的范围。一组利用现代x射线渗透压技术的实验集中在澄清选定的细胞骨架相关蛋白在介导丝间力中的单独作用，丝间力导致与轴突和树突中发现的高阶结构密切相关的丝状组合。一系列单独的实验将探索多价反离子，特别是那些在细胞环境中发现的反离子，如何重构体外组装的细胞骨架。该项目的一个重要意义在于，所获得的数据有望产生与神经元不同部分的异质组装结构的分子间相互作用有关的根本新见解。此外，这些研究将导致对多价离子存在下的生物聚合物相行为的理解的革命性转变，这是当前生物物理学和生物材料中高度感兴趣的新兴领域。拟议的生物材料和生物物理学项目是多学科的，教育和培训研究生、本科生和博士后研究人员，他们需要用现代方法来解决物理、化学、工程和生物学之间的界面问题。获得的技能为学员在学术界、国家实验室和工业界的职业生涯做好准备。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Non-Technical AbstractThis award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the nature of forces between biological protein molecules derived from neurons and how these forces, in turn, are responsible for creating the variety of different architectures found in neurons. Each different structure is responsible for a well-defined cell function including molecular mechanisms that cells use to communicate. The significance of the project is that the knowledge gained from the experimental results will allow one to begin the process of clarifying the underlying molecular causes for the disruption of the cytoskeletal structures inside neurons, a condition that leads to cell degeneration. This gained knowledge will allow the larger scientific community to design strategies to prevent cell deterioration. The research activity is designed to educate and train graduate and undergraduate students, and postdoctoral researchers in modern scientific and engineering methods and for participants to acquire skills needed for careers in academe, national laboratories, and industry. Investigators of this project are involved in a broad range of UCSB Outreach Programs with community colleges, and colleges and universities outside of Santa Barbara. These include, the NSF funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center outreach program, the Research Internship in Science and Engineering, the Future Leaders in Advanced Materials Program, the California Alliance for Minority Participation, and the Research Experience for Teachers.Technical AbstractThe goal of the proposal is to develop a fundamental understanding of structures, interactions, and phase behavior in co-assembling mixtures of cytoskeletal proteins, with compositions of mixtures spanning the range found in distinct compartments of neurons. A set of experiments utilizing modern X-ray-Osmotic Pressure techniques are focused on clarifying the separate roles of selected cytoskeletal associated proteins in mediating interfilament forces that result in filamentous assemblies closely related to the higher-order structures found in axons and dendrites. A separate series of experiments will explore how multivalent counterions, in particular, those that are found in cellular environments, restructure the in-vitro assembled cytoskeleton. A significance of the project is that the acquired data are expected to result in fundamentally new insights relating intermolecular interactions to heterogeneously assembled structures found in different parts of neurons. Furthermore, the studies will lead to a transformative shift in understanding of biological polymer phase behavior in the presence of multivalent ions, a nascent field of high current interest in biological physics and biomaterials. The proposed biomaterials and biophysics program is multidisciplinary and educates and trains graduate and undergraduate students, and postdoctoral researchers in modern methods required to address problems at the interface between physics, chemistry, engineering and biology. The acquired skills prepare the trainees for careers in academe, national laboratories, and industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.