CAREER: Creation of Complex Biomimetic Materials via Molecular Recognition

康涅狄格大学材料研究部生物材料项目的这一职业奖旨在创建新一代基于新型水凝胶的组织样生物材料，这些水凝胶用核酸适体功能化，以潜在地使用这些水凝胶作为细胞外基质的合成模拟物。能够再现天然组织复杂功能的生物材料不仅可以更深入地了解生物系统，还可以提供各种应用，如组织修复或器官再生。建议的研究包括合成和表征的聚合物和水凝胶与核酸适体功能化;亲和聚合物和它们的目标之间的分子识别在不同的接口的研究;和调查的适体和分子触发器在调节多种信号分子从水凝胶的释放的作用。来自组织样生物材料的众多信号的协调预期将确定细胞是否经历增殖、迁移、分化或其他关键功能。教育活动将激发未来学生对科学和工程的热情和兴趣;鼓励不同层次的学生学习尖端的纳米生物技术和21世纪的技能;并使纳米生物技术知识的广泛传播不仅限于该领域的学者和学生，组织损失或器官衰竭是生物医学领域最具挑战性的健康问题之一。组织工程和再生医学是一个很有前途的领域，它将多个学科的原理一起应用于组织修复或器官再生。然而，该领域的挑战之一是创造有望模仿人体组织的复杂结构和功能的新型材料。拟议的研究旨在开发具有多种功能的组织样材料，包括与人类细胞的通信。这些具有功能基团的合成聚合物具有刺激组织修复或器官再生的强大潜力。教育推广工作将与各种教学和推广活动相结合，例如培训高中学生和教师，开发和教授新课程，以及建立一个普及科学网站以传播纳米生物技术知识。从K-12到研究生学习的不同层次的学生将在一个令人鼓舞的和协作的环境中进行研究，学习尖端的纳米生物技术和科学和工程的其他相关领域。

This Career award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to University of Connecticut aims to create a new generation of tissue-like biomaterials based on novel hydrogels that are functionalized with nucleic acid aptamers for potential use of these hydrogels as synthetic mimics of extracellular matrix. Biomaterials that can recapitulate complex functions of natural tissues will not only provide a deeper insight into biological systems, but also offer a variety of applications such as tissue repair or organ regeneration. The proposed studies include synthesis and characterization of polymers and hydrogels that are functionalized with nucleic acid aptamers; study of the molecular recognition between affinity polymers and their targets at different interfaces; and investigation of the roles of aptamers and molecular triggers in regulating the release of multiple signal molecules from hydrogels. The coordination of numerous signals from the tissue-like biomaterials is expected to determine whether cells undergo proliferation, migration, differentiation, or other critical functions. The educational activities will be pursued to stimulate prospective students' passion and interests in science and engineering; encourage the students of different levels to learn both cutting-edge nanobiotechnology techniques and 21st century skill sets; and enable the broad dissemination of nanobiotechnology knowledge not only to scholars and students in the field, but also to the general public and prospective students.Tissue loss or organ failure is one of the most challenging health problems in the biomedical field. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is a promising field that applies the principles of multiple disciplines together towards tissue repair or organ regeneration. However, one of the challenges in this field is the creation of novel materials that are expected to mimic the complex structures and functionality of human tissues. The proposed research is designed to develop tissue-like materials that possess multiple features including communication with human cells. These synthetic polymers with functional groups hold strong potential of stimulating tissue repair or organ regeneration. The educational outreach efforts will be coupled with diverse teaching and outreach activities such as the training of high-school students and teachers, the development and teaching of a new course, and the establishment of a popular science website for the dissemination of nanobiotechnology knowledge. The students of different levels from K-12 to graduate studies will pursue research in an encouraging and collaborative environment, learning cutting-edge nanobiotechnology and other related fields in sciences and engineering.