REU Site: Glyco-Tree - Glycomaterial Training, Research and Education Experiences

糖材料是一个广泛包括糖和由糖衍生的大分子的术语。糖材料的应用包括结构产品，如木材、纺织品、生物燃料（从玉米和木材中提取）、食品添加剂和营养。糖物质在生物学中也扮演着重要的角色，包括免疫反应、细胞间通讯和DNA的基本组成部分。尽管如此，了解这些材料一直具有挑战性，因为它们的化学结构复杂，并且对标准表征方法具有抗性。2020年，美国国家科学基金会资助了弗吉尼亚理工大学和合作机构的材料创新平台（MIP） GlycoMIP，将专业知识集中在表征、建模和合成糖材料方面，使用最先进的设施和仪器。弗吉尼亚理工大学将举办一个本科生研究体验（REU）网站，利用GlycoMIP为本科生提供团队研究项目，参与GlycoMIP暑期学校，为期一周的糖材料表征、建模和合成，以及通过青年体验科学（YES）获得领导机会。这个REU项目将满足培养下一代糖科学领导者的关键需求，他们将在我们日常生活中无处不在的技术上提供未来的创新。本提案为本科生提供了四个基于团队的结构化研究领域：(1)甘聚糖基聚合物共混增容剂——利用多糖链的还原端，将合成甘聚糖嵌段共聚物，以增容碳水化合物基和非碳水化合物基热塑性聚合物和热固性聚合物的共混物，随后通过小角度光散射表征分散性，并通过动态力学分析和Instron测试确定机械性能；(2)糖共聚物的中尺度建模-糖共聚物的溶液和凝胶将通过稀溶液粘度学和旋转和振荡流变学来表征，以测试正在开发的中尺度模型，以解释和预测剪切粘度和线性粘弹性行为区域；(3)与生物分子相互作用的糖材料-糖材料由合成的聚合物骨架和确定的聚糖侧链组成，通过聚合后修饰和大单体的直接聚合，用现代聚合技术合成糖材料，以控制摩尔质量和链拓扑结构。利用表面等离子体共振和石英晶体微天平研究聚合物与酶和聚糖结合蛋白的相互作用；(4)推进糖分析的手性方法——振动圆二色性和拉曼光谱将用于表征溶液中的手性聚糖。光谱将与正在开发的理论工具的预测进行比较，这些工具结合了分子动力学模拟和量子化学计算的结果。该站点由国防部与NSF REU项目合作提供支持。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。

Non-technical SummaryGlycomaterials is a term that broadly encompasses sugars and larger molecules derived from sugars. Applications of glycomaterials include structural products such as lumber, textiles, biofuels (derived from corn and wood), food additives, and nutrition. Glycomaterials also play important roles in biology including immune response, cell-to-cell communication and as a fundamental component of DNA. Nonetheless, understanding these materials has historically been challenging because their chemical structures are complex and resistant to standard methods of characterization. In 2020, the National Science Foundation funded GlycoMIP, a Materials Innovation Platform (MIP) at Virginia Tech and partner institutions, to concentrate expertise in characterization, modeling, and synthesis of glycomaterials with state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation. Virginia Tech will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site that leverages GlycoMIP to afford undergraduate students with team-based research projects, participation in GlycoMIP Summer School, a week-long dive into glycomaterial characterization, modeling and synthesis, and leadership opportunities through Youth Experiencing Science (YES), a K-12 summer outreach program at Virginia Tech. This REU program will fill a critical need of growing the next generation of glycoscience leaders who will deliver future innovations on technologies ubiquitous in our daily lives.Technical SummaryThis proposal has four structured team-based research areas for undergraduate students: (1) Glycan-based polymer blend compatibilizers – Taking advantage of the reducing end of a polysaccharide chain, block copolymers of glycans will be synthesized to compatibilize blends of carbohydrate-based and non-carbohydrate-based thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers with subsequent characterization of the dispersion by small angle light scattering and determination of mechanical properties by dynamic mechanical analysis and Instron testing; (2) Mesoscale modeling of glycopolymers – Solutions and gels of glycopolymers will be characterized by dilute solution viscometry and rotatory and oscillatory rheometry to test mesoscale models being developed to explain and predict shear viscosity and regions of linear viscoelastic behavior; (3) Glycomaterials that interact with biomolecules – Glycomaterials comprised of synthetic polymer backbones and defined glycan side chains will be synthesized with modern polymerization techniques to control molar mass and chain topology through post-polymerization modification and direct polymerization of macromonomers. Interactions of the polymers with enzymes and glycan binding proteins will be probed by surface plasmon resonance and quartz crystal microbalance studies; (4) Advancing chiroptical methods of glycoanalytics – Vibrational circular dichroism and Raman optical activity spectroscopy will be used to characterize chiral glycans in solution. Spectra will be compared to predictions from theoretical tools being developed that combine results of molecular dynamic simulations and quantum chemical calculations.This site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.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.