CAREER: Methodology of Aliphatic Biodegradable Photoluminescent Polymer Development

该职业奖由德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校材料研究部生物材料项目颁发，旨在设计、合成、表征和鉴定可生物降解光致发光聚合物（BPLPs）的荧光机制。荧光标记和成像在分析生物分子，跟踪生物过程，可视化疾病和治疗效果方面的需求越来越大。生物可降解聚合物已广泛应用于活体生物医学植入物、组织工程支架和矫形装置。然而，如果不使用外源性显像剂，如光漂白有机染料或有毒量子点，目前没有一种可生物降解聚合物可以同时用作植入材料和体内生物成像探针。该项目将建立一种方法来定制设计多种类型的bplp，以满足功能性生物可降解聚合物的多种需求。该提案的成功完成有望显著推进生物材料科学，并在生物传感、生物成像、药物输送、组织工程和纳米医学等广泛的生物和生物医学领域带来可生物降解植入生物材料使用的范式转变。建议的教育活动的重点是建立一个由PI，研究生和高中教师组成的团队，以提高高中课程。PI和研究生将在PI的实验室培训高中教师，他们将共同帮助确定有价值的教育工具，以增强现有的高中课程。该教师培训计划有望为高中教师提供实践经验，并提供生物材料和组织工程方面的最新科学知识。生物材料是生物医学设备和产品的关键组成部分。一种新的生物材料可能会创造新的研究领域和机会，以解决未满足的生物医学需求。生物可降解聚合物已广泛应用于组织工程、药物输送和矫形装置等生物医学领域。PI最近开发了一种独特的可生物降解聚合物，它可以在不添加有毒显像剂的情况下自行发出明亮的荧光，用于检测早期癌症、跟踪癌症药物输送过程和监测医疗植入物的性能。本提案将探索这种荧光聚合物的基础科学，然后建立一种方法来定制设计许多不同类型的荧光生物可降解聚合物。在教育领域，高中学生和教师将在PI的实验室接受生物材料和组织工程方面的尖端技术和科学培训。教师和学生的这项研究工作有望确定有价值的主题，这些主题以后可以用来加强现有的高中课程。这项与德克萨斯州最大的高中——阿灵顿马丁高中（Martin high school）的合作，有望对高中教育产生广泛的科学影响。

This Career award by the Biomaterials Program in the Division of Materials Research to the University of Texas Arlington is to design, synthesize, characterize and identify fluorescent mechanism in biodegradable photoluminescent polymers (BPLPs). Fluorescent labeling and imaging are in increasing demand for analyzing biomolecules, tracking biological processes, and visualizing diseases and therapeutic efficacy. Biodegradable polymers have been widely used in vivo biomedical implants, tissue engineering scaffolds, and orthopedic devices. However, none of the current biodegradable polymers can function as both implant materials and in vivo bioimaging probes without using exogenous imaging agents such as photobleaching organic dyes or toxic quantum dots. This project will establish a methodology to custom-design many types of BPLPs to meet the versatile needs for functional biodegradable polymers. Successful completion of this proposal is expected to significantly advance the biomaterials science and bring paradigm shifts in the use of biodegradable implant biomaterials in a broad range of biological and biomedical fields including biosensing, bioimaging, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and nanomedicine. The proposed education activities focus on establishing a team consisting of the PI, graduate students and high school teachers for high school curriculum enhancement. The PI and graduate students will train high school teachers in the PI's laboratory and they together will help to identify valuable educational tools that would enhance the existing high school curriculum. This teacher training program is expected to give high school teachers hands-on experience and provides latest scientific knowledge in biomaterials and tissue engineering.Biomaterials are critical components of biomedical devices and products. A novel biomaterial may create new fields of studies and opportunities to tackle unmet biomedical needs. Biodegradable polymers have been intensively used in many biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery and orthopedic devices. The PI has recently developed a unique biodegradable polymer that can emit bright fluorescence by itself without adding toxic imaging agents in detecting early cancers, tracking cancer drug delivery process and monitoring medical implant performance. This proposal will explore the fundamental sciences of this fluorescent polymer, and then establish a methodology to custom-design many different types of fluorescent biodegradable polymers. In the educational area, high school students and teachers will be trained in the PI's laboratory with cutting-edge technologies and sciences in biomaterials and tissue engineering. This research effort by teachers and students is expected to identify valuable topics that could be used later to enhance the existing high school curriculum. This collaborative effort with the largest high school in Texas, Martin High School, Arlington, is expected to generate a wide scientific impact on the high school education.