Solid State NMR Methods Applied to Biomaterials

该项目旨在开发表征工具，用于设计自组装肽，在高分子生物材料表面折叠成定义的a-螺旋或b-链。目标是定义肽序列，当接头融合到聚合物表面时，这些肽序列指导功能肽/蛋白质的组装。该项目将开发生物材料和纳米颗粒表面多肽/蛋白质的二级结构和动力学的原子水平图像，以及多肽-表面相互作用的高分辨率结构图。最近对羟基磷灰石晶体上的石蜡蛋白肽的研究表明，在更广泛的表面上对肽进行类似的固态核磁共振（ssNMR）表征具有足够的灵敏度。与此同时，表面上肽/蛋白质构象和动力学的核磁共振研究将与其他基于光谱的表面表征研究相结合，如近边缘x射线吸收精细结构（NEXAFS）和飞行时间-二次离子质谱（TOF-SIMS），将生物材料表面上肽构象、取向和远程顺序表征的新能力结合在一起。将功能活性蛋白和多肽固定在聚合物表面的策略的发展是生物材料、组织工程、药物传递、亲和分离和诊断领域的一个核心方面。这些细节对于理解为什么特定材料工作良好或不工作良好至关重要，新的分子见解将提供基于肽/蛋白质结构，动力学和聚合生物材料表面组装知识的重要设计标准。在生物材料科学和应用领域受过训练的学生将在学术和工业工作中都有很强的竞争力。本项目由材料研究部和化学部共同资助。

This project is aimed at developing characterization tools to be used to design self-assembling peptides that fold into defined a-helices or b-strands at polymeric biomaterial surfaces. The goal is to define peptide sequences that direct the assembly of functional peptides/proteins onto polymeric surfaces when the adaptors are fused to them. The project will develop an atomic level picture of the secondary structure and dynamics of peptides/proteins on biomaterial and nanoparticle surfaces and a high-resolution structural map of peptide-surface interactions. Recent studies of statherin peptides on hydroxyapatite crystals have demonstrated that there is sufficient sensitivity to perform similar solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (ssNMR) characterization of peptides on a wider variety of surfaces. At the same time, NMR studies of peptide/protein conformation and dynamics on surfaces will be integrated with other spectroscopic-based surface characterization studies such as Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) and Time of Flight - Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) to tie together new capabilities for the characterization of peptide conformation, orientation, and long-range order on biomaterial surfaces. The development of strategies for immobilizing functionally active proteins and peptides on polymeric surfaces is a central aspect of the biomaterials, tissue engineering, drug delivery, affinity separations, and diagnostic fields. These details are crucial to understanding why particular materials work well or don't work well, and the new molecular insights will provide important design criteria based on knowledge of peptide/protein structure, dynamics, and assembly at polymeric biomaterial surfaces. Students trained in this area of biomaterials science and applications will compete very well for both academic and industrial jobs. This project is jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research and the Chemistry Division.