IIBR Instrumentation: Collaborative Research: Development of a Single-Biomolecule Detection Instrument via Digital Counting of Nanoparticles

IIBR Instrumentation：合作研究：通过纳米颗粒数字计数开发单生物分子检测仪器

• 批准号: 1911764
• 负责人: Yong Wang
• 金额: $ 18万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1911764&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IIBR; Instrumentation; Collaborative; Research; Development

An award is made to University of Akron and Pennsylvania State University to create a digital instrument for rapid detection of a broad range of biomolecules with single-molecule resolution. The highly interdisciplinary research will fulfill the urgent needs of low-abundance biomolecules detecting in many biological research areas and provide excellent educational experiences for the students involved in the project. The design concept and the digital instrument will be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate courses. The students will be trained and prepared with the expertise needed for the next generation of engineers and researchers by being exposed to the underlying engineering/science principles and hands-on experiences. The research activities will also provide excellent training opportunities for undergraduates and K-12 students. Through multiple education and outreach programs such as "High School Bridge", "Increasing Diversity in Engineering Academics" and "Women in Engineering" programs at UA, and "Multicultural Engineering Program", "Exploration U Programs", and the "Spectacular Science Event" programs at PSU, we will recruit undergraduate and middle/high school students, with an emphasis on underrepresented and female students, to participate in the proposed research activities. The goal is to extend the learning environment beyond the classroom, motivate the student interests and improve the retention in STEM fields via interacting with experienced researchers. The proposed education and outreach activities will help cultivate a high-tech environment in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two of the rust-belt states in the nation, and directly impact revitalization of high-tech industry through science education. This instrument is expected to advance cellular and molecular biology research, and become a useful tool for the scientific communities in Northeastern Ohio, Pennsylvania and the nation. Other societal benefits include improving biodefense, protecting the environment and facilitating disease diagnosis and prognosis.The proposed instrument will advance the field of biomolecule detection for the following innovations and capabilities. First, with the unique design of micropillar cartridges through molecular recognition, measurement of biomolecules can be converted to digital signals. The digital counting does not need tedious calibration curves or involve signal decay. Thus, the measurement will be more robust and reliable. Secondly, one target biomolecule can in principle be represented by one digital spike, which holds great potential for digital detection of biomolecules of ultra-low abundance, at single-molecule resolution. This ultra-high resolution and digitization capability are difficult to achieve with current state-of-the-art methods. Thirdly, this instrument will be a promising universal platform for detecting a broad range of biomolecules. Fourthly, this instrument will enable rapid detection of multiple biomolecules simultaneously by using multiple cartridges. Fifthly, the sensors will have a long shelf life and allow for field applications since the sensors are tolerant of harsh environments. An instrument with these unique capabilities is currently unavailable. This sensitive instrument holds great promise for the analysis of various biomolecules from small-size samples. Thus, it can be utilized to advance many biological research areas including, but not limited to, cell signaling, stem cell biology, neuroscience, tissue engineering, and cell metabolism.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.

为阿克伦大学和宾夕法尼亚州立大学颁发了奖励，以创建一种数字工具，以快速检测具有单分子分辨率的广泛的生物分子。高度的跨学科研究将满足许多生物学研究领域检测到的低丰度生物分子的紧急需求，并为参与该项目的学生提供出色的教育经验。 设计概念和数字仪器将被纳入本科和研究生课程。学生将接受下一代工程师和研究人员所需的专业知识，通过接触基础工程/科学原则和动手实践经验，对学生进行培训和准备。 研究活动还将为大学生和K-12学生提供极好的培训机会。 通过多种教育和宣传计划，例如“高中桥”，“工程学者的多样性”和UA的“工程女性”计划，“多元文化工程计划”，“探索U计划”以及PSU的“壮观科学活动”计划，我们将在招募中学生，并强调社会学生和年龄较低的学生中，从而招募中学生和女性的活动，从而招募了社会学生，并从事培训和培训。目的是将学习环境扩展到课堂上，激励学生的利益，并通过与经验丰富的研究人员进行互动来改善STEM领域的保留率。 拟议的教育和外展活动将有助于在俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州培养高科技环境，这是美国两个锈蚀州的两个国家，并直接通过科学教育影响了高科技行业的振兴。预计该工具将推进细胞和分子生物学研究，并成为俄亥俄州东北部，宾夕法尼亚州和国家科学界的有用工具。 其他社会益处包括改善生物化，保护环境并促进疾病的诊断和预后。拟议的仪器将推进以下创新和能力的生物分子检测领域。首先，通过通过分子识别的微柱墨盒的独特设计，可以将生物分子的测量转换为数字信号。数字计数不需要乏味的校准曲线或涉及信号衰减。因此，测量将更加健壮和可靠。其次，一个靶二型生物分子可以用一个数字尖峰来表示，该数字尖峰具有单分子分辨率的数字检测超低丰度生物分子的巨大潜力。使用当前的最新方法，难以实现这种超高分辨率和数字化能力。第三，该仪器将是一个有前途的通用平台，用于检测广泛的生物分子。第四，该仪器将通过使用多个墨盒同时快速检测多种生物分子。第五，由于传感器对恶劣的环境具有耐受性，传感器将具有较长的保质期并允许现场应用。目前无法使用具有这些独特功能的乐器。这种敏感的仪器对分析来自小型样品的各种生物分子有很大的希望。因此，它可以用于推进许多生物学研究领域，包括但不限于细胞信号传导，干细胞生物学，神经科学，组织工程和细胞代谢。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛影响的评估来通过评估来支持的。