CAREER: Crystal Morphogenesis via a Polymer-Induced Liquid-Precursor (PILP) Process

这个仿生材料化学研究项目的目的是将低温、水基加工方法应用于晶体工程和原位制造有机-无机复合材料的新技术的发展。本项目将研究最近发现的结晶过程的物理化学方面，称为聚合物诱导液体前驱体（PILP）过程。在PILP过程中，阴离子多肽模仿生物矿物中发现的酸性蛋白质，用于在钙基盐的结晶溶液中隔离离子，以诱导这种不寻常的液-液分离过程。形成的不是无机盐的沉淀核，而是矿物前体的微观液体状液滴。由于液体具有其容器的形状，因此液相矿物前驱体可以被塑造成各种形状，为材料工程师提供了一种调节晶体形态的新工具。佛罗里达大学将设立一个新的材料化学拓展项目。这个暑期研究项目将从东北部的一些女子学院和佛罗里达州历史上的黑人大学招收本科生。这些项目将为那些想要探索材料化学应用方面的学生提供机会。生物矿化领域的进展将对处理骨骼和牙齿的形成以及病理性生物矿物质如肾结石、生物材料结壳和动脉粥样硬化斑块具有重要的医学意义。预计“仿生”PILP工艺的良好加工条件将特别有利于需要将有机，聚合物或生物组分掺入陶瓷材料的应用，因此可用于制造生物传感器，生物催化，生物分离和硬组织工程。在这些领域受过训练的学生在医疗行业的一系列工作中具有很强的竞争力。

The aim of this research project in biomimetic materials chemistry is to apply low temperature, aqueous-based processing methods towards the development of new techniques for crystal engineering and in situ fabrication of organic-inorganic composites. This project will examine the physicochemical aspects of a recently discovered crystallization process, termed the Polymer-Induced Liquid-Precursor (PILP) process. In the PILP process, anionic polypeptides that mimic the acidic proteins found in biominerals are used to sequester ions in crystallizing solutions of calcium-based salts to induce this unusual liquid-liquid phase separation process. Rather than precipitating nuclei of the inorganic salt, microscopic liquid-like droplets of a mineral precursor are formed. Because liquids take the shape of their container, the liquid-phase mineral precursor can conceivably be molded into various shapes, providing materials engineers with a new tool for regulating crystal morphology. A new outreach program for Materials Chemistry will be established at the University of Florida. This summer research program will recruit undergraduate students from some of the women's colleges in the northeast and historically black universities in Florida. The projects will provide an opportunity to those students who would like to explore the applications side of materials chemistry. %%%Advances in the area of biomineralization will have important medical implications dealing with the formation of bones and teeth, as well as pathological biominerals such as kidney stones, biomaterial encrustation, and atherosclerotic plaque. It is anticipated that the benign processing conditions of the "biomimetic" PILP process will be particularly advantageous for applications that require the incorporation of organic, polymeric, or biological components into ceramic materials, and thus could be useful for the fabrication of biosensors, biocatalysis, bioseparations, and hard-tissue engineering. Students trained in these areas compete well for a range of jobs in the medical industry.