CAREER: Development of Optically Transparent Bacterial-Derived Hybrid-Cellulose Biomaterials with Antimicrobial Properties for Wound Treatment

非技术描述：天然生物材料在解决人类健康问题（包括伤口护理）方面具有巨大的潜力。然而，许多天然来源的生物材料的前景尚未完全实现，部分原因是该领域缺乏对材料如何产生以及定制生物材料性质的能力的理解。这个CAREER奖支持基础研究，以解决这种天然来源的材料称为不溶性胞外多糖（EPS）的挑战，这种材料由用于制造醋和红茶菌的相同细菌产生。该项目将建立由这些细菌产生的新材料，以及新材料的特性与用于生产这些材料的细菌机器之间的科学联系。这些新材料将用抗菌剂进行改性，用于伤口护理和感染预防。除了科学研究，该项目还包括综合教育活动，以激发小学生和本科生对科学和工程职业的兴趣。与该机构的STEM教育中心合作，将创建实践实验室模块和外联活动，以激发对材料科学和生物医学工程的兴趣。综合研究，指导和职业发展机会将提供给来自代表性不足群体的本科生和研究生，包括来自弱势背景，少数民族和妇女的学生，以提高保留率并增加STEM劳动力的多样性。技术说明：这个职业奖的重点是开发设计师不溶性胞外多糖（EPS）从Komagataeibacter物种的伤口护理。已经提出这些材料具有用于伤口敷料的几种重要性质，包括立即缓解疼痛、高持水能力、改善肉芽组织的发育和加速上皮再形成。主要研究者的团队研究细菌来源的EPS，以改善功能，并揭示基因型和表型之间的关系，以提高其在生物医学应用中的效用。在该项目中，将解决伤口治疗的两个关键特性，即伤口可视化和抗菌剂的掺入。为了实现这一目标，研究小组将从分子到批量规模连接基因组到表型组，并表征非共价抗菌肽结合，释放和功能性，对光学透明的细菌衍生EPS产生基本的了解。该项目的长期教育目标是促进和培养下一代研究人员和学生开发创新生物材料，以改善人类健康。该项目的教育目标是：1）激发小学生对科学，技术，工程和数学领域的兴趣，2）将基于项目的生物聚合物细菌生产实验室模块整合到本科课程中，以及3）提供研究培训，导师，专业发展，首先-该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Non-technical Description: Naturally derived biomaterials hold tremendous promise for addressing human health concerns, including wound care. However, the promise of many naturally derived biomaterials has not been fully realized, due in part to the field’s lack of understanding regarding how the materials are produced and the ability to tailor the biomaterial properties. This CAREER award supports fundamental research to address this challenge for one such naturally derived material known as insoluble exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by the same bacteria used to make vinegar and kombucha. This project will establish new materials produced by these bacteria and the scientific connection between the properties of the new material and the bacterial machinery used to produce these materials. These new materials will be modified with antibacterial agents for wound care and infection prevention. In addition to scientific research, this project includes integrated educational activities to excite elementary school students and undergraduate students about careers in science and engineering. Hands-on laboratory modules and outreach activities, in partnership with the institution’s STEM Education Center, will be created to inspire interest in material science and biomedical engineering. Integrated research, mentoring and career development opportunities will be provided to undergraduate and graduate level students from underrepresented groups, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds, minorities, and women, to improve retention and increase diversity in the STEM workforce. Technical Description: This CAREER award focuses on developing designer insoluble exopolysaccharides (EPSs) from Komagataeibacter species for wound care. These materials have been proposed to possess several important properties for wound dressing including immediate pain relief, high water holding capacity, improve development of granulation tissue, and accelerate re-epithelialization. The Principal Investigator’s team studies bacterial-derived EPSs to improve functionality and uncover the relationship between genotype and phenotype to improve its utility for biomedical applications. In this project, two key properties for wound treatment will be addressed, namely wound visualization and incorporation of antimicrobials. To achieve this, the research team will generate a fundamental understanding of optically transparent bacterial-derived EPSs from the molecular through bulk scale connecting genome to phenome and characterize non-covalent antimicrobial peptide binding, release, and functionality. The long-term educational goal of this CAREER project is to promote and train the next generation of researchers and students developing innovative biomaterials to improve human health. The educational objectives of this project are: 1) inspire elementary school students to become excited about the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, 2) integrate project-based laboratory modules on bacterial production of biopolymers into an undergraduate course, and 3) provide research training, mentorship, and professional development to first-generation college students.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.