EAGER: (ST2) Using Principles of Synthetic Ecology to Design Communicating Colonies

EAGER：（ST2）利用合成生态学原理设计交流群落

基本信息

批准号：
2036200
负责人：
Anna Balazs
金额：
$ 25万
依托单位：
University of Pittsburgh
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2020-09-01 至 2023-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2036200&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
EAGER ST2 Using Principles Synthetic

项目摘要

Non-technical Description:Biological microbes have developed complex mechanisms for working as a community to perform a range of collective tasks crucial to their survival. Inspired by the interactive behavior in microbial communities, the researcher is developing computational models to design synthetic materials systems that share information and through this communication, perform concerted functions. The research can facilitate the development of self-reporting, self-regulating materials that not only signal when the system deviates from normal operating conditions or “homeostasis”, but also restore the system to homeostatic conditions. Such self-regulating systems will lead to dramatic increases in energy efficiency since they do not require external intervention to maintain their functionality. These bio-inspired autonomously functioning materials can also bring about transformative changes in the field of soft robotics, enabling the fabrication of small-scale, interactive devices that cooperate to perform specified functions in the absence of external stimuli. The students and postdoctoral researchers involved in the project are participating in a highly interdisciplinary field, and through their research efforts are actively learning and synthesizing new ideas at the boundaries of synthetic biology, biomaterials and soft matter. In particular, they will be adapting the approaches of synthetic ecology, which aims to understand microbial colonies by constructing new functioning communities, to determine factors controlling interactions in the synthetic communicating materials. The field of synthetic ecology is still in its infancy and constitutes a new frontier in science; by training the next generation workforce and developing new modeling approaches, the research team can make a significant impact in the growth of this burgeoning area. Moreover, by applying concepts from synthetic ecology to synthetic materials, the investigators will develop new approaches for performing materials research.Technical Description:The research aims to design “communicating materials” that: 1) are self-reporting and self-regulating, 2) evolve their properties in response to environmental changes, and 3) share information to perform a range of collaborative functions. Despite advances in active soft matter and self-propelled particles, few synthetic systems mimic these modes of biological activity. The NSF ST2 workshop concluded that such communicating materials systems provide a useful construct for addressing fundamental questions that lie at the intersection of biomaterials, soft matter and synthetic biology. Furthermore, the realization of communicating materials can pave the way to new technological advances. The investigator is specifically using theory and simulation to design communicating materials from experimentally realizable synthetic microcapsules that interact through viable physical and chemical phenomenon. The work is yielding new computational models that encompass both the spatial and temporal behavior of assemblies of three-dimensional capsules; the hydrodynamic interactions between the capsules and surrounding solution; and chemical reactions occurring both within the capsules and in the outer solution. These models also incorporate feedback loops that mimic regulatory networks in biological cells. Using these approaches, the investigator is determining conditions that trigger the synthetic capsules to exchange chemical information and through this communication, perform concerted functions. The studies have the potential to elucidate fundamental physical and chemical phenomena that play a vital role in signaling and communication among biological cells. Notably, both the biological and synthetic communicating systems dissipate energy and operate out-of-equilibrium. Research on controlling the self-organization and collective dynamics of the communicating, interactive capsules can provide much-needed guidelines for harnessing dissipative, non-equilibrium behavior in bio-inspired, physical systems. By determining fundamental physicochemical principles that underpin behavior in biological microbial communities, these studies can provide a window into the physics of living systems and organization of primitive cellular communities at the origin of life.This Division of Materials Research (DMR) grant supports research to understand and develop communicating materials that incorporate cell communities managed by the Condensed Matter Physics (CMP) Program in DMR of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Directorate.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.

非技术描述：生物微生物开发了作为社区工作的复杂机制，以执行一系列对生存至关重要的集体任务。受微生物社区的互动行为的启发，研究人员正在开发计算模型，以设计共享信息并通过这种通信的合成材料系统，执行协同的功能。这项研究可以促进自我报告的自我调节材料的发展，这些材料不仅在系统偏离正常工作条件或“体内稳态”时发出信号，而且还将系统恢复到体内稳态条件。这种自我调节系统将导致能源效率的急剧提高，因为它们不需要外部干预来维持其功能。这些由生物启发的自主功能材料还可以带来软机器人技术领域的变化变化，从而使在没有外部STIMULLI的情况下可以制造小规模的交互式设备，可在没有外部STIMULLI的情况下执行指定的功能。参与该项目的学生和博士后研究人员正在参加一个高度的跨学科领域，通过他们的研究工作，正在积极学习和综合合成生物学，生物材料和软质的界限。特别是，他们将改编合成生态学的方法，该方法旨在通过构建新功能群落来理解微生物菌落，以确定控制合成材料中相互作用的因素。合成生态学领域仍处于起步阶段，构成了科学领域的新领域。通过培训下一代劳动力并开发新的建模方法，研究团队可以对这个毛刺区的发展产生重大影响。此外，通过将概念从合成生态学应用于合成材料，研究人员将开发用于执行材料研究的新方法。技术描述：研究旨在设计“通信材料”：1）是自我报告和自我调节的，2）2）为响应环境变化而进化其性质，以及分享信息以执行协作范围的信息。尽管有活跃的软物质和自螺旋颗粒的进步，但很少有合成系统模仿这些生物学活性模式。 NSF ST2研讨会得出的结论是，这种通信材料系统为解决生物材料，软物质和合成生物学交集的基本问题提供了有用的结构。此外，交流材料的实现可以为新的技术进步铺平道路。研究者专门使用理论和仿真来设计通过可行的物理和化学现象相互作用的实验可实现的合成微胶囊的通信材料。这项工作正在产生新的计算模型，这些模型涵盖了三维胶囊组装的空间和临时行为；胶囊和周围溶液之间的流体动力相互作用；化学反应既出现在胶囊内和外溶液中。这些模型还结合了模仿生物细胞中的调节网络的反馈回路。使用这些方法，研究者正在确定触发合成胶囊以交换化学信息的条件，并通过这种通信执行协同的功能。这些研究有可能阐明基本的物理和化学现象，这些现象在生物细胞之间在信号传导和通信中起着至关重要的作用。值得注意的是，生物学和合成通信系统都可以消散能量并进行平衡。关于控制交流胶囊的自组织和集体动态的研究可以为利用生物启发的物理系统中耗散性的非平衡行为提供急需的指南。 By determining fundamental physical systems that underpin behavior in biologic microbial communities, these studies can provide a window into the physics of living systems and organization of primitive cellular communities at the origin of life.This Division of Materials Research (DMR) grant supports research to understand and develop communicating materials that incorporate cell communities managed by the Condensed Matter Physics (CMP) Program in DMR of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Directorate.This奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准评估被认为是宝贵的支持。