CAREER: Phoretic Transport of Membrane-Bound Biological Colloids in Complex Environments

存在于生物系统中的分子溶质（如盐和糖）很少处于平衡状态，因为它们的分布，浓度和组成通过各种生物化学过程不断变化，这些过程对维持生命至关重要。该奖项旨在研究非均匀溶质条件，特别是在限制条件下，如何引起生物胶体的运动。了解生物胶体的动力学可以为基本的生物运输过程提供有价值的见解，例如趋化性，囊泡运输和毛细血管交换，以及开发生物医学和环境应用的新策略，包括药物输送和废水处理，这些都具有深远的社会和经济影响。各种教育活动直接融入拟议的研究计划。该教育计划专门针对高年级本科生和入门级研究生，以培养适应性强的劳动力，并为他们在高等教育及以后的成功做好准备。该奖项的目标是研究受限系统中由化学梯度诱导的泳动过程驱动的半渗透性可变形囊泡的运输。拟议的研究计划将阐明各种迁移过程的相互作用和周围的囊泡的机械环境如何影响其动态。的电泳迁移的囊泡的实验研究，包括使用基于水凝胶的微流体平台，以表征个人和耦合囊泡的流动性限制下，和三维显微镜，以可视化的囊泡变形和迁移后的内部/外部流场。拟议的研究将提供定量的见解缺乏文献中的囊泡电泳运输，这将有助于建立一个分析框架，囊泡电泳，占约束下的可变形界面。几个研究任务集成了针对工程专业学生的教育努力，以激励软物质物理学的研究。通过提供研究机会，拟议的教育活动将鼓励本科STEM学生，特别是代表性不足的学生，追求更高的学位教育。这些活动还将促进STEM领域的多样性和包容性，并有助于解决某些群体在工程研究中代表性不足的问题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Molecular solutes such as salts and sugars present in biological systems are rarely at equilibrium as their distribution, concentration, and composition change continuously via various biochemical processes that are important in sustaining life. This award aims to investigate how the non-uniform solute conditions, particularly under confinement, give rise to the motion of biological colloids. Understanding the dynamics of biological colloids can provide valuable insights into fundamental biotransport processes, such as chemotaxis, vesicle trafficking, and capillary exchange, and in developing novel strategies for biomedical and environmental applications, including drug delivery and wastewater treatment, which have a profound societal and economic impact. Various educational activities are directly integrated into the proposed research program. The educational plan specifically targets upper-level undergraduate and entry-level graduate students to foster an adaptive workforce and prepare for their success in higher education and beyond.The goal of this award is to investigate the transport of semi-permeable, deformable vesicles driven by chemical-gradient-induced phoretic processes in confined systems. The proposed research program will elucidate how the interaction of various migration processes and the mechanical environment surrounding the vesicles impact their dynamics. The experimental investigation of the phoretic migration of vesicles includes using a hydrogel-based microfluidic platform to characterize the individual and coupled vesicle mobility under confinement, and three-dimensional microscopy to visualize the vesicle deformation and the internal/external flow field upon migration. The proposed research will provide quantitative insights into the vesicle phoretic transport lacking in the literature, which will help establish an analytical framework for vesicle phoresis that accounts for the deformable interface under confinement. Several research tasks are integrated with an educational effort directed toward engineering students to motivate the study of soft matter physics. By providing research opportunities, the proposed educational activities will encourage undergraduate STEM students, particularly underrepresented students, to pursue higher degree education. These activities will also promote diversity and inclusion in STEM fields and help to address the underrepresentation of certain groups in engineering research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.