Lipid Dip-Pen Nanolithography for Model Bio-Membrane Systems

化学系的分析和表面化学项目将支持西北大学的Mirkin教授和德国明斯特大学的Harald Fuchs教授的合作研究项目。 该奖项与由德国研究共同体（DFG）通过NSF和DFG之间的联合计划资助的合作奖项相协调，该联合计划共同资助美国和德国研究人员之间的合作项目。该合作项目的目的是开发用于制造能够模拟体外细胞功能的磷脂膜的脂质蘸笔纳米光刻（L-DPN）方法。Mirkin集团在表面生物化学、DPN和微细加工方面的专业知识将与Fuchs集团在扫描探针显微镜、自组织系统和纳米级分析方面的专业知识相结合。越来越多的证据表明，生物膜的各种性质强烈依赖于二维和三维的异质性。 因此，具有超高横向分辨率的多组分膜阵列对于细胞功能建模将是有用的，其中可以控制2维和3维相互作用。目前用于在表面上产生流体和机械稳定的膜阵列的方法对于在用于重构蛋白质的基底上图案化脂质不是最佳的。此外，以适当的规模或用几种化学组分将材料包封到支撑的脂质多层中仍然是一个重大的挑战。DPN是目前唯一能够克服这些障碍的技术。L-DPN制造的图案将被表征为脂质墨水组合物、基质化学和环境条件的函数，以确定用于研究生物分子、脂质图案的超分子结构和适于与磷脂墨水整合的材料的相互作用的合适特征尺寸。一旦完全开发，这些工具将允许生物学家，化学家和其他人在基础水平上研究生物和化学相互作用。该项目将在一个高度多学科的领域为学生提供极好的培训机会，其中包括在德国的国际研究经验和在美国的德国学生。该奖项由NSF国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。

The Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry will support the collaborative research program of Prof. Mirkin of Northwestern University and Prof. Harald Fuchs of the University of Munster, Germany. This award coordinates with a collaborative award funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through a joint program between the NSF and DFG that jointly funds collaborative projects between US and German investigators.The purpose of this collaborative project is to develop the method of Lipid Dip-Pen Nanolithography (L-DPN) for the fabrication of phospholipid membranes capable of mimicking cellular functions in vitro. The expertise of the Mirkin group in surface biochemistry, DPN and microfabrication will be combined with the Fuchs group expertise in scanning probe microscopy, self organized systems and nano-scale analytics. There is growing evidence that the various properties of biological membranes strongly depend on both two- and three-dimensional heterogeneities. Therefore, it would be useful for modeling cellular functions to have multi-component membrane arrays with ultra-high lateral resolution in which 2 and 3 dimensional interaction can be controlled. Current methods for generating fluid and mechanically stable membrane arrays on surfaces are not optimum for patterning lipids on substrates for reconstitution of proteins. Additionally, encapsulation of materials into supported lipid multilayers at an appropriate scale or with several chemical components remains a significant challenge. DPN is the only currently available technology that may be capable of overcoming these obstacles. L-DPN fabricated patterns will be characterized as a function of the lipid ink composition, substrate chemistry, and environmental conditions in order to determine suitable feature sizes for studying interactions of biological molecules, the supramolecular structures of lipid patterns, and materials which are amenable to integration with phospholipid inks. Once fully developed, these tools will allow biologists, chemists, and others to study biological and chemical interactions at a fundamental level. The project will provide excellent training opportunities to students in a highly multi-disciplinary area, which will include international research experience in Germany and for German students in the US.The award is co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering at NSF.