CAREER: Biomimetic Macromolecules at the Materials-Microbe Interface

PI的首要主题是什么？美国的研究计划是捕捉自然存在的生物材料的基本设计特征，以便合理设计和精确调整新型人造材料的结构和性能，这一过程被称为“仿生学”。特别是，这个项目旨在使人类能够控制塑料和有害细菌之间的相互作用。朝着创造表面涂层的方向发展，这种涂层可以在接触时杀死细菌，防止生物污泥在表面上积聚。在这项工作中创造的新材料是广泛实际应用的重要候选者，包括自清洁船体涂层以减少阻力，管道流动内衬以防止生物引起的腐蚀，以及可以防止医院环境中设备相关感染的导尿管装置。本科生和研究生将在一个高度多学科的环境中接受训练，包括合成聚合物化学、生物物理学和材料科学。为了扩大STEM学科的参与，该项目在K-12阶段包含了强大的教育和推广部分，重点是代表性不足的学生。PI为初高中学生创建了一个项目，让他们参观校园，学习生物学和材料科学的概念，并通过他们最喜欢的社交媒体与朋友和家人分享他们的知识。技术摘要：水环境中表面的生物膜形成仍然是一个众所周知的棘手问题，在广泛的领域具有显著的负面影响，从船体涂层到生物医学设备。在这个项目中，PI和他的团队将开发自焚聚合物涂层，发挥接触杀菌活性，并根据生物膜基质内细胞外表达的酶活性进行触发解聚。学生将合成含有杀菌阳离子侧链和酶不稳定端基的功能化聚苯醚。由这些新材料组成的表面涂层将被筛选杀菌活性、对人体细胞的毒性以及它们对一系列生物膜相关酶刺激的降解反应。在最后阶段，将评估表面涂层在实验室生长和环境设置中防止生物膜形成的有效性。学生将在一个高度多学科的环境中接受训练，包括合成聚合物化学，生物物理学和材料科学。它们将为仿生材料科学开辟新的道路，加深我们对材料-微生物界面的理解，并产生具有巨大商业和工业重要性的原型技术。这项研究与教育推广活动相吻合，这些活动将扩大初高中女生和少数民族学生的参与，培养对科学的热情，并向公众传播科学。

NON-TECHNICAL ABSTRACTThe overarching theme of the PI?s research program is to capture the essential design features of naturally occurring biological materials in order to rationally design and precisely tune the structure and properties of novel man-made materials, a process known as ?biomimicry?. In particular, this project is designed to enable human control over the interaction between plastics and harmful bacteria ? towards the creation of surface coatings that kill germs on contact and prevent the accumulation of biological sludge on surfaces. The new materials created in this work are important candidates for a broad range of practical applications, including self-cleaning ship hull coatings to reduce drag, pipe-flow inner linings to prevent biologically-induced corrosion, and urinary catheter devices that can prevent device-associated infections in the hospital setting. Undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in a highly multidisciplinary environment encompassing synthetic polymer chemistry, biophysics, and materials science. In order to broaden participation in STEM disciplines, this project encompasses a strong education and outreach component at the K-12 level with an emphasis on under-represented students. The PI has created a program for middle school and high school students to visit campus, learn concepts in biology and materials science, and to share their knowledge with friends and family using their favorite social media outlets.TECHNICAL ABSTRACTBiofilm formation on surfaces in aqueous environments remains a notoriously intractable problem with dramatically negative implications across a broad range of sectors, from ship hull coatings to indwelling biomedical devices. In this project, the PI and his team will develop self-immolative polymer coatings that exert on-contact bactericidal activity and undergo triggered depolymerization specifically in response to enzymatic activity expressed extracellularly within the biofilm matrix. The students will synthesize functionalized poly(benzyl ether)s containing bactericidal cationic side chains and enzyme-labile end groups. Surfaces coatings composed of these new materials will be screened for bactericidal activity, toxicity to human cells, and their degradation response to a range of biofilm-associated enzymatic stimuli. In the final stage, surface coatings will be evaluated for their effectiveness in prevented biofilm formation both in the laboratory-grown and environmental settings. Students will be trained in a highly multidisciplinary environment encompassing synthetic polymer chemistry, biophysics, and materials science. They will pave the way for new avenues in biomimetic materials science, deepen our understanding of the materials-microbe interface, and generate prototype technologies of enormous commercial and industrial importance. The research dovetails with educational outreach activities that will broaden participation from female and minority students at the middle school and high school levels, fostering passion for science and communication of science to the general public.