MOLECULAR PACKING AND ORIENTATION OF SELF-ASSEMBLED PEPTIDE AMPHIPHILE SYSTEMS

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 自组装纳米结构已被成功地用于医学、材料科学和工程中的各种目的。 拟议的研究集中在一种特殊的自组装分子上，称为肽两亲物，形成由纳米纤维组成的分子水凝胶。这些分子已被我们西北大学的实验室用于实现生物工程目标的集合：作为细胞和组织人工支架;作为指导干细胞分化，细胞迁移，细胞反应和损伤后组织再生的生物材料;以及作为细胞，肽，核酸和蛋白质递送的载体。 我们的实验中心是通过研究纳米纤维材料中的分子取向和空间分布来理解这些分子所产生的超分子结构。 总体目标是验证特定的热力学，动力学和分子动力学模型的自缔合，并揭示这些工程生物材料的结构-功能关系。 这些特定分子的生物医学和治疗学的未来工程取决于理解这些水凝胶系统的组织行为的所有水平。 我们相信，X射线衍射是一个有价值的除了我们目前的表征方法，使分子水平的分辨率，这种非结晶系统。 特别是，同步加速器X射线源的使用将提供最高水平的分辨率的分子包装相比，其他传统的聚合物表征方法。 与目前在理解其他基于肽/蛋白质的自组装系统方面取得重大进展的纤维衍射学家的合作将导致技术、结果的有效转化，并对这两个领域的社会产生更广泛的影响。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Self-assembled nanostructures have been successfully exploited for a variety of purposes in medicine, materials science, and engineering. The proposed research centers on a particular kind of self-assembling molecule called peptide amphiphiles that form molecular hydrogels composed of nanofibers. These molecules have been utilized by our laboratory at Northwestern University to achieve a collection of bioengineering goals: as cell and tissue artificial scaffolds; as biomaterials that direct stem cell differentiation, cell migration, cellular response, and tissue regeneration after injury; and as vehicles for cell, peptide, nucleic acid, and protein delivery. Our experiments center on understanding supramolecular structures these molecules create by investigating molecular orientations and spatial distributions within the nanofiberous materials. The overall goal is to validate specific thermodynamic, kinetic, and molecular dynamic models of self-association and to uncover structure-function relationships of these engineered biomaterials. Future engineering of these specific molecules for biomedicine and therapeutics is contingent upon understanding all levels of the organizational behavior of these hydrogel systems. We believe that X-ray diffraction is an valuable addition to our present characterization methodologies by allowing molecular level resolution of this non-crystalline system. In particular, the use of synchrotron X-ray sources will provide the highest level of resolution of molecular packing in contrast to other traditional polymer characterization methodologies. Collaboration with fiber diffractionists currently making great strides in understanding other peptide/protein-based self-assembling systems will lead to effective translation of techniques, results, and broader impact to society across both fields.