DNA Floor Boards

非技术性：化学家和工程师面临的挑战之一是在纳米到毫米的尺度上以明确定义的顺序排列分子；这种顺序对于创造具有可预测和独特性质的材料至关重要。例如，大自然通过以特定的顺序排列生物分子来创造大型生物结构，以产生具有高强度、高弹性或导电性的材料等。人类还没有成功地模仿大自然这种非凡的能力来形成复杂但有序的组装，这仍然是一个挑战之一，这使得这是一个高风险但高回报的项目，适合渴望的计划。PIS实验室偶然发现了毫米尺度上高度有序的DNA和蛋白质组装的自发形成。建议进行系统的研究，以了解这些组件是如何在实验室中在非常简单的条件下，简单地混合试剂，从而获得如何形成和操作这些组件的重要见解，从纳米到毫米。这些超结构可能会被用于捕捉太阳光、转化为液体燃料、DNA计算机或先进的生物材料。在此授奖期间，许多研究生、本科生和高中生将接受在这里开发的最先进和跨学科方法论的培训。技术：大自然有能力在纳米到毫米长度的尺度上形成复杂的生物分子超结构。这种具有非凡细节的优雅组件的建造在实际应用中非常有希望。这些组装可能具有潜在的变革性，同时导致在基于DNA的电子设备、生物电子元件、生物太阳能电池、生物燃料电池或用于细胞构图的生物材料的生物分子组装方面开创新的研究领域。最近，在PI的实验室里，观察到人工创造的蛋白质和DNA分子形成了非凡的组装，这些组装的形状从纳米到毫米都是直线的，所有这些都是通过自组装实现的。了解这种组装形成的复杂机制并解开驱动它的基本力，将使复杂、功能、先进、新型生物材料的建设取得重大进展。为了应对这一挑战，将在分子水平上系统地修改蛋白质和DNA结构，并建立组装形成所需的最低特征。利用电子显微镜、原子力显微镜、流动二向色性、纳米量热法、扫描电子显微镜和偏光显微镜等先进手段，对不同长度尺度的自组装结构进行研究，为阐明自组装机理奠定基础。这个项目的更广泛的影响是双重的。其中之一是，这些高度新颖的生物材料可能在组织支架、传感、细胞生长、生物分子电子学、DNA计算和太阳能应用方面具有价值。第二个方面是教育部分，高中、本科生和研究生将接受生物材料设计、生物分子组装和生物光谱学方面的培训。研究培训将与项目目标相结合。

Non-technical: One of the challenges for chemists and engineers is to arrange molecules in a well-defined order on nanometer to millimeter length scales; such order is essential to create materials with predictable and unique properties. For example, nature creates large biological structures by arranging biomolecules in a particular order to produce materials with high strength, high elasticity or conductivity and so on. Humans have yet to successfully mimic this extraordinary ability of nature to form complex but well-ordered assemblies, and it remains one of the challenges, which makes this a high risk but high pay-off project and suitable for the EAGER program. The spontaneous formation of highly ordered assemblies of DNA and proteins on millimeter scales were serendipitously discovered in the PIs laboratory. Systematic studies are proposed to learn how these assemblies are formed in the laboratory, under very simple conditions of simply mixing of the reagents, so that important insights into how to form and manipulate these assemblies from nanometers to millimeters can be gained. These super structures may find use in solar light capture, conversion to liquid fuels, DNA-computers or advanced biomaterials. During this award period a number of graduate, undergraduate and high school students will be trained in the state-of-the-art and interdisciplinary methodology developed here.Technical: Nature has the ability to form complex biomolecular super structures on nanometer to millimeter length scales. The construction of such elegant assemblies with extraordinary detail is highly promising for practical applications. These assemblies could potentially be transformative while leading to the creation of new areas of research in biomolecular assembly for DNA-based electronics, bio-electronic components, bio-solar cells, bio-fuel cells or biomaterials for cellular patterning. Recently, artificially created protein and DNA molecules were observed to form extraordinary assemblies that are rectilinear in shape with order ranging from nanometers to millimeters, all via self-assembly, in the PI's laboratory. Understanding the complex mechanism of this assembly formation and unraveling the fundamental forces that drive it would allow a major advancement in the construction of complex, functional, advanced, novel biomaterials. To address this challenge, the protein and DNA structure will be systematically modified at the molecular level and minimum required features for the assembly formation will be established. Advanced methods such as TEM, AFM, flow-dichroism, nanocalorimetry, SEM and polarization microscopy will be used to examine organization on various length scales which will enable the elucidation of the mechanism of self-assembly. Broader impacts of this project are two-fold. One is that these highly novel biomaterials may be of value for tissue-scaffolds, sensing, cell-growth, biomolecular electronics, DNA-computing and solar energy applications. The second aspect is the educational component, where high school, undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in biomaterials design, biomolecular assembly and biological spectroscopy. The research training will be integrated with project goals.