U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science: Investigating Surface Initiated Polymerization of Amino Acid Derivatives by Ion Assisted Deposition: Polymer and Film Characterization

9980398 Advincula该奖项支持亚拉巴马大学的Rigoberto Advincula教授和日本东京农业技术大学的Hiroaki Yohai教授之间为期三年的合作研究项目。 研究人员将通过离子辅助沉积研究氨基酸衍生物的表面引发聚合：聚合物和薄膜表征。 离子辅助沉积（IAD）是真空蒸发方法的一种新的延伸。 近年来，人们对固体基质上的多肽膜越来越感兴趣。 IAD提供了在合成过程中排列偶极子的潜力，为具有受控取向的栓系多肽链的产生带来了很大希望。 一个重要的问题是取向参数是否主要影响聚合过程的沉积。 聚合物通常不容易蒸发，因此研究人员将探索三种不同方法生产的聚合物之间的根本差异：1）简单聚合物的直接蒸发，2）逐步增长聚合和3）加成聚合。该项目汇集了两个具有互补专业知识和研究能力的实验室的努力。 美国研究人员是聚合机理、多分散性、微观结构和薄膜特性方面的专家。 他们的日本合作者是使用真空蒸发方法制造聚合物薄膜的先驱。 聚合物薄膜在微电子、光电和生物技术等领域有着重要的应用。 该项目通过包括代表性不足群体在内的几名研究生的参与，促进国际人力资源。 通过交流思想和技术，该项目将扩大我们的基础知识，促进国际理解与合作。 研究结果将发表在国际科学期刊上，并在美国和国外的科学会议上发表。

9980398AdvinculaThis award supports a three year collaborative research project between Professor Rigoberto Advincula of the University of Alabama and Professor Hiroaki Usui of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology in Japan. The researchers will be investigating surface initiated polymerization of amino acid derivatives by ion assisted deposition: polymer and film characterization. Ion-Assisted deposition (IAD) is a novel extension of the vacuum evaporation method. Recently there has been growing interest in polypeptide films on solid substrates. IAD offers the potential for aligning dipoles during synthesis, holding much promise for the creation of tethered polypeptide chains having controlled orientation. An important question is whether the orientation parameters affect primarily the deposition of the polymerization process. Polymers usually do not evaporate easily, so the researchers will explore the fundamental differences between polymers produced by three different methods: 1) direct evaporation of simple polymers, 2) step-growth polymerization and 3) addition polymerization. The project brings together the efforts of two laboratories that have complementary expertise and research capabilities. The U.S researchers are experts in the mechanism of polymerization, polydispersity, microstructure and film characteristics. Their Japanese collaborator is a pioneer in the use of the vacuum evaporation method for fabrication of polymeric ultrathin films. Polymer ultrathin films have important applications in microelectronics, electro-optics and biotechnology. The project advances international human resources through the participation of a several graduate students including underrepresented groups. Through the exchange of ideas and technology, this project will broaden our base of basic knowledge and promote international understanding and cooperation. Results of the research will be published in international scientific journals and also presented at scientific meetings in the U.S. and abroad.