Collaborative Research: Designing Functional Bioligand Interfaces for Multifunctional Nanomaterials

在化学系高分子、超分子和纳米化学 (MSN) 项目的支持下，迈阿密大学的 Marc Knecht 教授和石溪大学的 Anatoly Frenkel 教授将化学合成技术和 X 射线吸收光谱等先进分析工具相结合，以表征与纳米颗粒表面结合的特殊设计的肽的结构和功能。纳米颗粒的生产通常侧重于金属的活性，但表面的肽可以提供新的功能。这是一个具有挑战性的问题，因为这些分子必须结合到纳米颗粒表面，这可能导致金属原子和肽失去活性。 Knecht、Frenkel 教授和他们的学生正在使用仿生设计来应对这一挑战，并使用可以结合纳米颗粒并仍然呈现独特化学活性的肽。他们的发现可能会带来制备多功能材料的新方法，其中颗粒表面分子的特性可以与金属的特性相协调。此外，这项研究是利用纳米技术和催化作用与迈阿密戴德县学校学生进行从初中到高中的多代模型互动的教育模块的基础。无机纳米材料的转化特性几乎完全集中在无机核上，而配体壳通常仅限于控制稳定性和溶解度。虽然这是纳米颗粒结构-性能关系中的两个关键因素，但通过使配体壳具有与无机组分协同作用以实现多功能平台的附加功能，可以实现性能的大幅扩展。 Knecht 和 Frenkel 教授假设，可以设计多域肽来生成与无机核协同作用的功能性纳米颗粒配体界面。此类肽被设计为具有材料结合结构域和呈现于溶液中的第二功能结构域。在这种布置中，肽功能域的特性被调整为与纳米粒子无核的特性协同工作，从而形成多功能平台。催化过程和先进的光谱方法正在用于监测新开发材料的这些特性和功能。特别关注纳米粒子无机核和生物配体表面层的组成，以增加材料的多功能性。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN) Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Marc Knecht of the University of Miami and Anatoly Frenkel of Stony Brook University are combining chemical synthesis techniques and advanced analysis tools such as x-ray absorption spectroscopy to characterize the structure and function of specially designed peptides that are bonded to the surfaces of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are typically produced with a focus on the activity of the metals, but peptides on the surface could provide new functions. This is a challenging problem as these molecules must bind to the nanoparticle surface which can cause both the metal atoms and peptides to lose their activity. Professors Knecht, Frenkel, and their students are using bio-inspired design to tackle this challenge and use peptides that can bind nanoparticles and still present unique chemical activities. Their discoveries could lead to new methods to prepare multifunctional materials where the properties of the molecules on the particle surface can work in concert with those of the metal. In addition, this research is the basis of educational modules using nanotechnology and catalysis to engage with Miami-Dade County School students in a multi-generational model from middle to high school.The transformational properties of inorganic nanomaterials focus almost exclusively on the inorganic core where the ligand shell is typically limited to controlling stability and solubility. While these are two key factors in nanoparticle structure-property relationships, a great expansion of properties could be achieved by engendering the ligand shell with additional functionalities that work synergistically with the inorganic component to achieve a multifunctional platform. Professors Knecht and Frenkel hypothesize that multidomain peptides can be designed to generate functional nanoparticle ligand interfaces that operate synergistically with the inorganic core. Such peptides are being designed with materials binding domains and a second functional domain presented to solution. In this arrangement, the properties of the functional domain of the peptide are being tuned to operate in tandem with the properties of the nanoparticle inorganic core, resulting in a multifunctional platform. Catalytic processes and advanced spectroscopic methods are being used to monitor these properties and functions of the newly developed materials. Particular attention is being paid to the composition of both the nanoparticle inorganic core and the bio-ligand surface layer to increase the multifunctional nature of the materials.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.