CAREER: Responsive, Surface-Attached Networks with Built-in Logic - An Integrated Research and Education Plan

技术摘要：这项提议将通过下列方式描述刺激响应聚合物薄膜的结构-性质关系：1)寻找含有较低临界溶液温度(LCST)基序并且能够快速简单地制造表面附着网络的可光交联的共聚物；2)探测LCST基序中疏水/亲水基团的排列，以便在响应特性和分子相互作用之间建立重要的联系；3)利用Hofmeister盐系列来确定体积-相变的机制；以及4)在聚合物薄膜中设计氨基酸序列，以促进超体积-相变的控制。PI的工作将首次系统地探索受限LCST聚合物中的关系，以开发用于设计活性表面的预测框架。其次，这项研究将为LCST理论提供关键的测试，并将为控制反应逻辑的反应基序的分子设计提供新的、新的见解。在这一努力中获得的知识将立即用于解决重要的管道问题，通过与当地高中的接触来提高学生对科学和工程的兴趣。最后，这项研究将通过将其纳入新的本科课程而对本科教育产生积极影响。非技术总结：LCST聚合物是一类软材料，可以赋予表面传感和驱动能力。这项拟议的努力将打造一张蓝图，用于设计以可预测的方式对环境刺激做出反应的活性表面。从廉价的传感器到微流控平台中的样品处理，再到能够进行数字计算的材料，这些成果有望取得一系列进展。这项研究与当地高中的推广计划相联系，这些计划将加强和多样化化学课程，并为本文中的研究提供一种机制，以接触到年轻和易受影响的受众。此外，这项研究是与国家实验室合作进行的，这些实验室为研究生提供了跨学科的关系，并增加了他们完成博士工作后的机会。

TECHNICAL SUMMARY: This proposal will delineate structure-property relationships in stimuli-responsive polymer films through the following: 1) Seeking photo-cross-linkable copolymers that incorporate lower critical solution temperature (LCST) motifs and that enable the fast and simple fabrication of surface-attached networks; 2) Probing permutations of hydrophobic/hydrophilic groups in LCST motifs to draw vital connections between response characteristics and molecular interactions; 3) Exploiting the Hofmeister salt series to identify the mechanisms of volume-phase transitions; and 4) Designing amino acid sequences into the polymer films to facilitate control over volume-phase transitions. The PI's work, for the first time, will systematically explore relationships in confined LCST polymers to develop a predictive framework for the design of active surfaces. Second, this research will provide critical tests of LCST theory and will contribute new, novel insights into the molecular design of responsive motifs for controlled response logic. Knowledge gained during this effort will be immediately used to address important pipeline issues for enhancing students' interest in science and engineering through outreach to local high schools. Finally, the research will positively impact undergraduate education through its incorporation into a new undergraduate course.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: LCST polymers are a class of soft materials that can endow sensing and actuation capabilities to surfaces. This proposed effort will forge a blueprint for designing active surfaces that respond to an environmental stimulus in a predictable manner. The outcomes promise a number of advances from inexpensive sensors to sample processing in microfluidic platforms to materials capable of digital computation. The research is connected to outreach programs at local high schools that will enhance and diversify curriculums in chemistry, and provide a mechanism for the research contained herein to reach a young and impressionable audience. Moreover, this research is carried out in collaboration with national laboratories that enable interdisciplinary relationships for the graduate students and enhanced opportunities after their doctoral work.