Collaborative Research: Electron transfer and storage in assemblies based on nucleic acids

非技术性：卡内基梅隆大学(Lead)、匹兹堡大学(Non-Lead)和杜克大学(Non-Lead)化学系的高分子/超分子/纳米化学计划颁发的这些奖项旨在开发新的战略，以创建自组装化学结构，从长远来看，这种结构可能会执行与计算、传感和能量转换相关的信息处理和化学转换。此外，这些研究将使新型人造机器的发明成为可能，这些机器的功能将与生物机器的规模相同。目前，许多关键的转换和感兴趣的功能要么很难创建，要么完全无法访问。该团队将开发新的战略来教授初级研究生课程，利用多个机构的科学专业知识-从而丰富入门课程的兴奋和内容，同时降低每个机构的成本。该团队还积极接触K-12学生和教育工作者，积极参与开发教与学工具包，以及为K-12学生和教师开发的模块，如DNAZone和课堂工具包借阅图书馆。技术：高效执行复杂化学转化的人工、超分子系统是现代化学的重要目标，在生物电子学和生物医学中具有潜在的长期应用。这个合作研究项目使用DNA和合成核酸来编程结构的自组装，其中基于金属离子和纳米颗粒的电活性基团以纳米分辨率组织起来。这项研究的目的是确定结构的构造规则，在这种结构中，可以在几十纳米长度的尺度上分离电荷。参与该项目的学生将获得合成、表征和理论方面的专业知识，并学习协作技能。研究人员将开发和使用一种互联网辅助战略，为参与这项合作研究的不同机构的研究生教授中小型入门课程，主题涉及科学学科之间的边界。该团队将致力于创造工具，K-12教育工作者可以使用现代研究中的例子来教授科学概念。

Nontechnical: These awards by the Macromolecular/Supramolecular/Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to Carnegie Mellon University (Lead), University of Pittsburgh (Non-lead) and Duke University (Non-lead) aim to develop new strategies to create self-assembling chemical structures that may, in the long term, perform information processing and chemical transformations associated with computation, sensing, and energy conversion. In addition, these studies would enable the invention of new types of artificial machines that would function on the same scale as biological machinery. At the present time, many of the key transformations and functionalities of interest are either very difficult to create or entirely inaccessible. The team will develop new strategies to teach beginning graduate courses that leverage scientific expertise across multiple institutions - thus enriching the excitement for- and content of- introductory courses, while lowering the cost per institution. The team is also strongly engaged in outreach to K-12 students and educators, are actively involved in developing teaching and learning kits, and modules for K-12 students and teachers such as "DNAZone" and "Classroom Kit Lending Library".Technical: Artificial, supramolecular systems that perform complex chemical transformations with high efficiency are an important target of modern chemistry, with potential long-term applications in bioelectronics and biomedicine. This collaborative research program uses DNA and synthetic nucleic acids to program the self-assembly of structures in which electroactive groups based on metal ions and nanoparticles are organized with nanometer resolution. The aim of the research is to determine rules for the construction of structures in which it is possible to separate charge on the tens of nanometers length scale. The students working on the project would gain expertise in synthesis, characterization, and theory and learn collaborative skills. The investigators will develop and use an internet-assisted strategy for teaching small-to-medium-size introductory courses for graduate students on topics at boundaries among scientific disciplines at different institutions involved in this collaborative research. The team will be engaged in creating tools that K-12 educators can use to teach science concepts using examples from modern research.