CAREER: Phoretic Transport of Membrane-Bound Biological Colloids in Complex Environments

存在于生物系统中的分子溶质（如盐和糖）很少处于平衡状态，因为它们的分布、浓度和组成通过各种维持生命的重要生化过程不断变化。该奖项旨在研究非均匀溶质条件，特别是在约束下，如何引起生物胶体的运动。了解生物胶体的动力学可以为基本的生物运输过程提供有价值的见解，如趋化性、囊泡运输和毛细交换，并为生物医学和环境应用开发新的策略，包括药物输送和废水处理，这具有深远的社会和经济影响。各种教育活动被直接整合到拟议的研究计划中。该教育计划专门针对高年级本科生和入门级研究生，培养适应能力强的劳动力，为他们在高等教育及以后的成功做好准备。该奖项的目标是研究在受限系统中由化学梯度诱导的电泳过程驱动的半透性、可变形囊泡的运输。提出的研究计划将阐明各种迁移过程的相互作用和囊泡周围的机械环境如何影响它们的动力学。囊泡电泳迁移的实验研究包括使用基于水凝胶的微流控平台表征单个和耦合囊泡在约束下的迁移，以及三维显微镜观察囊泡迁移时的变形和内外流场。所提出的研究将为文献中缺乏的囊泡电泳运输提供定量的见解，这将有助于建立一个囊泡电泳的分析框架，该框架可以解释约束下的可变形界面。几个研究任务与教育努力相结合，直接针对工程学生，以激发软物质物理学的研究。通过提供研究机会，拟议的教育活动将鼓励STEM本科学生，特别是代表性不足的学生，追求更高的学位教育。这些活动还将促进STEM领域的多样性和包容性，并有助于解决工程研究中某些群体代表性不足的问题。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。

Molecular solutes such as salts and sugars present in biological systems are rarely at equilibrium as their distribution, concentration, and composition change continuously via various biochemical processes that are important in sustaining life. This award aims to investigate how the non-uniform solute conditions, particularly under confinement, give rise to the motion of biological colloids. Understanding the dynamics of biological colloids can provide valuable insights into fundamental biotransport processes, such as chemotaxis, vesicle trafficking, and capillary exchange, and in developing novel strategies for biomedical and environmental applications, including drug delivery and wastewater treatment, which have a profound societal and economic impact. Various educational activities are directly integrated into the proposed research program. The educational plan specifically targets upper-level undergraduate and entry-level graduate students to foster an adaptive workforce and prepare for their success in higher education and beyond.The goal of this award is to investigate the transport of semi-permeable, deformable vesicles driven by chemical-gradient-induced phoretic processes in confined systems. The proposed research program will elucidate how the interaction of various migration processes and the mechanical environment surrounding the vesicles impact their dynamics. The experimental investigation of the phoretic migration of vesicles includes using a hydrogel-based microfluidic platform to characterize the individual and coupled vesicle mobility under confinement, and three-dimensional microscopy to visualize the vesicle deformation and the internal/external flow field upon migration. The proposed research will provide quantitative insights into the vesicle phoretic transport lacking in the literature, which will help establish an analytical framework for vesicle phoresis that accounts for the deformable interface under confinement. Several research tasks are integrated with an educational effort directed toward engineering students to motivate the study of soft matter physics. By providing research opportunities, the proposed educational activities will encourage undergraduate STEM students, particularly underrepresented students, to pursue higher degree education. These activities will also promote diversity and inclusion in STEM fields and help to address the underrepresentation of certain groups in engineering research.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.