Understanding Interfacial Interactions between Naturally Occurring Zwitterionic Materials and Proteins

界面相互作用的控制能力对于药物/基因传递的有效性、治疗性蛋白质的保护、基于表面的诊断设备的性能以及可植入材料的生物相容性都是重要的。开发同时保持蛋白质生物活性的无污染材料尤其困难。拟议研究的新颖性集中在自然产生的多两性离子和蛋白质的无污染、酶稳定的界面相互作用上。这项建议旨在解决关键的结构-性质关系，例如离子分离距离、水化和反电荷分布以及它们与酶稳定性的关系。如果成功，对两性离子材料的这种更广泛的理解可以为开发更好的多功能材料的新型构建块提供指导，并可能对生物材料和生物界面领域产生影响。

The ability to control of interfacial interactions is important for the efficacy of drug/gene delivery, the protection of therapeutic proteins, the performance of surface-based diagnostic devices and the bio-compatibility of implantable materials. It is particularly tricky to develop non-fouling materials that can preserve the bioactivity of proteins at the same time. The novelty of the proposed research is focused on non-fouling, enzyme stabilizing interfacial interactions of naturally occurring poly-zwitterions and proteins. This proposal seeks to address critical structure-property relations, e.g. ion separation distances, hydration and counter-charge distibution and their relation to enzyme stability. If successful, such a broader understanding of zwitterionic materials could provide guidance towards novel building blocks for better multifunctional materials, and could have impact on the field of biomaterials and biointerfaces.