Collaborative Research: Designing Functional Bioligand Interfaces for Multifunctional Nanomaterials

在化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学(MSN)计划的支持下，迈阿密大学的马克·奈赫特教授和石溪大学的阿纳托利·弗伦克尔教授正在结合化学合成技术和先进的分析工具，如X射线吸收光谱，来表征连接到纳米颗粒表面的特殊设计的多肽的结构和功能。纳米颗粒的生产通常侧重于金属的活性，但表面的多肽可能会提供新的功能。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，这可能会导致金属原子和多肽失去活性。克奈特教授、弗伦克尔教授和他们的学生正在使用生物灵感设计来应对这一挑战，并使用能够结合纳米颗粒并仍具有独特化学活性的多肽。他们的发现可能会带来制备多功能材料的新方法，在这种材料中，粒子表面的分子的性质可以与金属的性质协同工作。此外，这项研究是利用纳米技术和催化技术与迈阿密-戴德县学校的学生进行从初中到高中的多代模型的教育模块的基础。无机纳米材料的转化性质几乎完全集中在无机核心上，其中配体壳层通常仅限于控制稳定性和溶解性。虽然这是纳米粒子结构-性质关系中的两个关键因素，但通过使配体壳层具有与无机成分协同工作的附加功能来实现多功能平台，可以实现性能的极大扩展。克尼赫特和弗伦克尔教授假设，多结构域肽可以被设计成产生与无机核心协同工作的功能纳米颗粒配体界面。这样的多肽正在被设计成具有材料结合域和第二个功能域的方案。在这种布置中，肽的功能结构域的属性被调节以与纳米颗粒无机核的属性一起操作，从而产生多功能平台。正在使用催化过程和先进的光谱方法来监测新开发的材料的这些特性和功能。纳米无机核心和生物配基表层的组成受到了特别的关注，以增加材料的多功能性质。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.