CAREER: Nanothin Films with Selective Pores - Synthesis and Application in Nanobioreactors

在化学系有机动力学项目的支持下，孟菲斯大学化学系的Pinkhassic教授将构建薄膜纳米胶囊，用作纳米生物反应器，其中将固定酶。这些纳米反应器将由溶解在脂质体双层膜疏水内部的各种烯烃单体进行光化学聚合和交联而构建，从而形成较薄的聚合物壳层。这些壳将通过在洗涤剂溶液中的溶解而从膜中释放。通过加入球形可水解疏水分子，作者计划在聚合物薄膜中创建孔，使通道具有疏水性或亲水性的内部。新型多孔聚合脂体材料的构建将在生物技术、分离科学和药物运输等许多领域开辟一系列新的可能性。在化学系有机动力学项目的支持下，平卡奇教授将推行一项旨在将本科生的视野扩大到丰富的跨学科研究的教育战略。为此，他将在本科水平上开发几门跨学科课程，并让本科生参与他实验室的跨学科研究。来自罗兹学院和橡树岭国家实验室的研究人员和教育工作者也将参与这些努力。面向孟菲斯地区大学预科学生的宣传活动将通过纳米技术/超分子化学演示来实现，该地区有很多未被充分代表的少数族裔。

With the support of the Organic Dynamics Program in the Chemistry Division, Professor Pinkhassic, of the Chemistry department at the University of Memphis, will construct thin-film nanocapsules for use as nano-bioreactors in which enzymes will be immobilized. These nano-reactors will be constructed by photochemical polymerization and cross-linking of various olefinic monomers dissolved in the hydrophobic interior of the membrane bilayers of liposomes leading to thin polymer shells. These shells will be released from the membrane by dissolution in detergent solution. By including globular hydrolyzable hydrophobic molecules, the author plans to create pores in the polymer films with the flexibility to line the channels with hydrophobic or hydrophilic interiors. The construction of new porous polymerized lipsome-like materials will open up a range of new possibilities in many areas including biotechnology, separation science, and drug transport.With the support of the Organic Dynamics Program in the Chemistry Division, Professor Pinkhassic will pursue an educational strategy designed to expand the horizons of undergraduate students to the richness of interdisciplinary research. To this end he will develop several interdisciplinary courses at the undergraduate level and involve undergraduates in the interdisciplinary research in his laboratory. Researchers and educators from Rhodes College and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will also be included in these efforts. Outreach to pre-college students in the Memphis area, which is rich in underrepresented minorities, will be accomplished by demonstrations of nanotechnology/supramolecular chemistry.