Materials World Network: Structure-Response Relations of Advanced Diagnostic Tools

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。先进诊断工具结构响应关系的材料世界网络包括弗吉尼亚理工大学大分子和界面研究所、西澳大利亚大学物理学院、西澳大利亚大学显微镜和微量分析中心、NIST以及一个由科学家和工程师组成的全球扩展网络，这些科学家和工程师专注于利用磁场进行诊断。国际团队将开发用于组织定量MRi的新型磁性聚合物造影剂，该造影剂在生理条件下具有非常快的横向核磁共振弛豫率，并将以规定的方式与生物成分相互作用。这项研究是基于这样一种假设，即磁铁矿上的两亲性聚合物涂层的性质可以微调，以增强纳米颗粒局部附近水质子的弛豫度，同时含有疏水成分，使其能够与细胞成分有效地相互作用。我们的集体MWN专业知识在于明确定义的磁芯和共聚物的合成，胶体测量和建模，以及对磁性纳米粒子物理的深刻理解。这些发现将最终形成一个预测物质-弛豫关系的模型。虽然MRi已经是最常用的生物成像方法之一，但基于该MWN衍生的合理设计的新材料可能会导致体内跟踪干细胞的方法，通过MRi方法更好地诊断癌症，加快跟踪癌细胞的扩散，并提高信号强度。我们的理念是为学生提供综合的研究/教育机会和工具，以解决用于诊断的聚合物纳米结构的科学和工程问题。该计划将使学生在全球范围内接触跨学科研究，跨越化学，物理，工程和先进诊断的传统界限。我们的愿景是，这些学生将在他们的职业生涯中运用跨学科的团队方法来创造和解决问题，他们将利用这种方法来影响变革，发现新现象，并将复杂的混合材料应用到生物技术中。MWN是由NSF、澳大利亚研究理事会和澳大利亚国际科学联系项目共同资助的。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The Materials World Network for Structure-response Relations of Advanced Diagnostic Tools comprises a research and education partnership among the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute at Virginia Tech, the School of Physics at the University of Western Australia, the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis at the University of Western Australia, NIST, and a global expanded network of scientists and engineers focused on diagnostics utilizing magnetic fields. The International team will develop new magnetite-polymer contrast agents for quantitative MRi of tissue that have the combined properties of very fast transverse NMR relaxivities in physiological conditions AND that will interact with biological components in prescribed ways. The research is driven by the hypothesis that the properties of amphiphilic polymer coatings on magnetite can be finely-tuned to enhance the relaxivities of water protons in the local vicinity of the nanoparticle, yet contain hydrophobic components that enable efficient interactions with cellular components. Our collective MWN expertise lies in synthesis of well-defined magnetic cores and copolymers, colloid measurements and modeling, and a deep understanding of magnetic nanoparticle physics. The findings will be culminated in a model for predicting material-relaxivity relationships. Although MRi is already one of the most utilized bioimaging methods, new materials based on rational designs derived from this MWN could lead to methods for tracking stem cells in vivo, better cancer diagnosis through MRi methods that expedite tracking the spread of cancer cells, and improved signal intensities. Our philosophy is to provide students with integrated research/education opportunities and tools to address the science and engineering of polymer nanostructures for diagnostics. The program will expose students to interdisciplinary research in a global context that crosses the traditional boundaries of chemistry, physics, engineering and advanced diagnostics. Our vision is that these students will carry the interdisciplinary teamed approach to creativity and problem-solving into their careers, and that they will exploit this approach to effect change, discover new phenomena, and implement complex and hybrid materials into biotechnology. The MWN is jointly funded by NSF, the Australian Research Council and the Australian International Science Linkage program.