Collaborative Research: NSF-DFG: Confine: Sculpting Confined Fluids for Transport using Self-Organization and Information Transfer

合作研究：NSF-DFG：限制：利用自组织和信息传输塑造受限流体以进行运输

• 批准号: 2234135
• 负责人: Anna Balazs
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 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: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-11-01 至 2025-10-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2234135&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; NSF; DFG; Confine

The aim of this award is to create microfluidic platforms (micrometer-scale liquid channels) that harness energy released from chemical reactions and perform sustained mechanical work, ultimately enabling the development of portable fluidic devices with autonomous, biomimetic functionality. The (self-)regulation of fluid flow and transport across length scales in response to specific chemical signals is critical for realizing next generation smart micro- & nano-scale devices; it enables innovative alternatives to current microfluidic technology and establishes efficient and autonomous modes of chemical synthesis, sensing, and delivery. The findings from this award will have a transformative impact by uncovering the complex interplay among molecular-scale catalytic chemistry, chemical networks, and macroscopic transport in confined microfluidic geometries. Through collaborative training of the students, the work will contribute to the development of the next generation work force in scientific and engineering fields, which are ever increasingly requiring expertise across a range of disciplines.This award will examine the fundamental effects of molecular-scale chemistry on microscale flow of confined fluids, and, conversely, the effect of microscopic flow on chemical kinetics in microchambers. The collaborative team encompasses the unique and necessary skills to pursue this ambitious research, which will be performed through three complementary work packages, with findings from each work package revealing fundamental phenomena across different length and time scales. The first work package concentrates on multi-material 3D microprinting of microfluidic systems, the second targets active pumping mechanisms enabled by enzymes on surfaces and deformable posts. The third work package implements a superimposed self-organizing signal patterning process at the post arrays, arising from DNA strand displacement reaction networks. The latter reaction networks will then be coupled to active pumping by enzymes and sculpting of fluid flows. Through these studies, new modes of chemically induced motion and self-organization within confined fluids will be uncovered. Additionally, self-regulating materials that transmit chemical information to drive and control autonomous transport of micro- to macro-scale fluidic systems will be created. This award will advance knowledge and understanding across a range of different fields, from fundamental fluid mechanics and catalysis to chemical engineering and process design. Since flow and feedback are non-equilibrium processes, these studies will also provide new platforms for probing relationships among structure, dynamics, and non-equilibrium behavior.This project was awarded through the “Chemistry and Transport in Confined Spaces (NSF-DFG Confine)" opportunity, a collaborative solicitation that involves the National Science Foundation and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).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.

该奖项的目的是创建微流体平台（微米级液体通道），利用化学反应释放的能量并进行持续的机械工作，最终实现具有自主仿生功能的便携式流体设备的开发。响应于特定化学信号的跨长度尺度的流体流动和运输的（自）调节对于实现下一代智能微纳米尺度装置至关重要;它实现了当前微流体技术的创新替代方案，并建立了化学合成、感测和递送的高效和自主模式。该奖项的研究结果将通过揭示分子尺度催化化学，化学网络和受限微流体几何形状中宏观运输之间的复杂相互作用产生变革性影响。通过对学生的合作培训，这项工作将有助于科学和工程领域下一代劳动力的发展，这些领域越来越需要跨学科的专业知识。该奖项将研究分子尺度化学对受限流体微尺度流动的基本影响，以及相反，微观流动对微室中化学动力学的影响。该合作团队拥有独特和必要的技能来进行这项雄心勃勃的研究，这项研究将通过三个互补的工作包进行，每个工作包的结果揭示了不同长度和时间尺度的基本现象。第一个工作包专注于微流体系统的多材料3D微打印，第二个目标是通过表面和可变形柱上的酶实现的主动泵送机制。第三个工作包实现了一个叠加的自组织信号图案化过程中的后阵列，产生的DNA链置换反应网络。然后，后者的反应网络将被耦合到酶的主动泵送和流体流动的塑造。通过这些研究，将发现封闭流体中化学诱导运动和自组织的新模式。此外，还将创建传输化学信息的自调节材料，以驱动和控制微观到宏观尺度流体系统的自主传输。该奖项将促进知识和理解在一系列不同的领域，从基础流体力学和催化化学工程和工艺设计。由于流动和反馈是非平衡过程，这些研究也将为探索结构、动力学和非平衡行为之间的关系提供新的平台。（NSF-DFG限制）”机会，一项涉及美国国家科学基金会和德国研究共同体（DFG）的合作征集活动该奖项反映了NSF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。