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）项目的支持下，迈阿密大学的Marc Knecht教授和石溪大学的Anatoly Frenkel教授正在将化学合成技术和先进的分析工具（如x射线吸收光谱）相结合，以表征与纳米颗粒表面结合的特殊设计肽的结构和功能。纳米颗粒的生产通常关注于金属的活性，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，因为这些分子必须与纳米颗粒表面结合，这可能导致金属原子和肽失去活性。Knecht教授、Frenkel教授和他们的学生正在使用生物启发设计来解决这一挑战，他们使用的多肽可以结合纳米颗粒，并且仍然呈现出独特的化学活性。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，颗粒表面的分子性质可以与金属的性质一致。此外，本研究是使用纳米技术和催化技术的教育模块的基础，以多代模式与迈阿密戴德县学校的学生从初中到高中进行互动。无机纳米材料的转化性质几乎完全集中在无机核上，其中配体壳通常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，但通过产生具有附加功能的配体外壳，可以实现性能的极大扩展，这些功能可以与无机成分协同工作，从而实现多功能平台。Knecht教授和Frenkel教授假设，可以设计多结构域肽来产生与无机核心协同作用的功能性纳米颗粒配体界面。这类肽被设计为具有材料结合结构域和第二功能结构域的解决方案。在这种安排下，肽的功能域的性质被调整为与纳米粒子无机核心的性质协同工作，从而形成多功能平台。催化过程和先进的光谱方法被用于监测新开发材料的这些特性和功能。特别关注的是纳米颗粒无机核心和生物配体表面层的组成，以增加材料的多功能性质。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。

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.