Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Biomaterials

生物材料涵盖了从生物活性催化剂到无定形结构支架的各种化学系统，具有化学调节特定功能的巨大潜力。由于非晶态生物材料的无序性，鉴定其分子水平结构本身就很困难；从历史上看，研究人员一直依赖于试错法。核磁共振波谱是一种对局部化学环境敏感的非破坏性技术。这种独特的局部探测和调整到特定核的能力促使核磁共振成为我们研究无序生物和无机材料的最强大的结构工具之一。我们提出的研究是使用固体核磁共振光谱来研究玻璃离子聚合物水泥，以及生物玻璃和玻璃陶瓷。为了提高玻璃离聚体水泥的生物学功能和开发能够传递小分子的生物玻璃，需要详细了解网络修饰元素如何影响生物-无机界面的体积和表面结构。在这些复杂的化学系统中获得结构-性质关系的观点将最终导致我们设计全新材料的能力。

Biomaterials encompass a diverse range of chemical systems from bioactive catalysts to amorphous structural scaffolds with tremendous potential for chemically tuning specific functions. Identifying molecular-level structure of amorphous biomaterials is inherently difficult due to their disordered nature; historically, researchers have relied on a trial-and-error approach. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique that is sensitive to the local chemical environment. This unique ability to probe locally and tune to specific nuclei has prompted NMR to become one of the most powerful structural tools at our disposal to study disordered biological and inorganic materials. Our proposed research is to use solid-state NMR spectroscopy to study glass ionomer cements as well as bioglasses and glass-ceramics. To improve biological function of glass ionomer cements and develop bioglasses capable of small molecule delivery requires a detailed understanding of how network-modifying elements affect bulk and surface structure at the biological:inorganic interface. Gaining a perspective on the structure-property relationships within these complex chemical systems will ultimate lead to our ability to design de novo materials. The target of this work is to understand how group III elements affect bioactive responses within phosphosilicate bioglasses currently used within the medical field to support damaged bones. Solid-state NMR will also be used to study glass ionomer cements used as mercury-free alternatives for restorative dental practices. As certain modifying cations present in these biomaterials are difficult to detect, the use of ultrahigh field NMR and the development of high-polarization approaches will be studied. Our intent is to identify the roles network-forming and modifying cations have in directing bioactivity using a tiered approach to research and student training. As physical chemists we provide the chemical foundations essential to assist the engineering community in bridging the structure-property gap and advance these materials in the dental and medical research fields. As such within the Canadian environment this research impacts the biomaterials community at large while providing other research fields (e.g., materials science, engineering, and earth science) pioneering methods to investigate local- and medium-range structure within disordered solids.