CAREER: Proteins Containing Non-natural Amino Acids as Building Blocks for Novel Materials

本项目主要研究生物高分子材料在材料科学和生物学中的应用。大自然经常使用精确控制的大分子结构来赋予功能；天然分子（如核酸和蛋白质）的精细信息存储、分层组装和催化特性长期以来一直受到聚合物化学家的钦佩。尽管在聚合物的化学合成方面取得了许多进步，但没有一种合成方法能提供体内方法生产蛋白质聚合物所能提供的序列和结构控制。此外，蛋白质工程的重要进展使得非天然氨基酸在体内多位点结合到蛋白质中成为可能，这大大扩展了遗传指导方法的化学多功能性。本研究项目利用生物合成的结构和序列控制，结合非天然氨基酸的新化学功能，创造出具有特殊结构控制的新型聚合物材料。特定的目标包括在传感器、生物材料和纳米技术中应用的糖、肽或电活性基团的受控呈现。该研究项目的高度跨学科性质将为研究环境中的培训提供多样化的机会，并且该项目的研究概念也将整合到材料科学与工程课程中，例如聚合物合成和先进生物材料。整合到本科课程将包括实施生物技术研究和专题讨论小组。除了这些在大学层面的教育贡献之外，一项新的拓展计划，艺术科学，将在一所地区高中实施。这些科学和教学计划的结合将成为材料研究和教育创新贡献的基础。

This project focuses on the engineering of biopolymeric materials for application in materials science and biology. Nature regularly uses precise control of macromolecular structure to impart function; the exquisite information storage, hierarchical assembly, and catalytic properties of natural molecules such as nucleic acids and proteins have long been admired by the polymer chemist. Despite the many advances in the chemical synthesis of polymers, no synthetic method offers the sequence and structural control afforded by protein polymer production by in vivo methods. Additionally, important advances in protein engineering have made possible the multisite incorporation of non-natural amino acids into proteins in vivo, which markedly expands the chemical versatility of genetically directed methods. This research program capitalizes on the structural and sequence control of biosynthesis, combined with the novel chemical function of non-natural amino acids, to create new polymeric materials with exceptional architectural control. Specific targets include the controlled presentation of groups such as saccharides, peptides, or electroactive moieties for applications in sensors, biomaterials, and nanotechnology. The highly interdisciplinary nature of this research program will provide diverse opportunities for training in the research environment, and research concepts in this program will also be integrated into the materials science and engineering curriculum in courses such as polymer synthesis and advanced biomaterials. Integration into undergraduate programs will include the implementation of biotechnology research and special topics discussion groups. In addition to these educational contributions at the university level, a novel outreach program, The Science of Art, will be implemented at a regional high school. The combination of these scientific and instructional programs will be the basis of innovative contributions to materials research and education.