Collaborative Research: Combined Tribological and Bactericidal Effect of Bioinjectable Nanodiamonds on Biological Joints

摘要：骨关节炎是一种影响关节的常见疾病，尤其是髋关节和膝关节的关节。随着人们年龄的增长，关节中的软骨会破裂，导致疼痛、僵硬和活动能力下降。这使得日常活动，如走路，爬楼梯，甚至从椅子上站起来，都非常困难。虽然有治疗骨关节炎的方法，如口服止痛药和注射，但它们只能提供暂时的缓解，并不能治愈这种疾病。因此，用人工关节代替受损关节的手术可能是唯一可行的选择。然而，这个手术是一个非常困难的过程，需要很长的恢复期，并且对有潜在健康状况的老年人有额外的风险。纳米颗粒的使用可能有助于治疗组织衰竭的早期阶段，但是缺乏关于它们与生物组织相互作用的知识。这就是为什么这个项目的目标是了解纳米颗粒接触健康和受损组织时发生的过程。研究人员建议把重点放在金刚石纳米颗粒上，作为一个受控的研究系统。该项目将重点了解这些微小颗粒与生物组织和免疫细胞相互作用的机制。除了研究本身，该项目还旨在为材料科学、生物医学工程和表面科学领域的学生提供教育机会。通过吸引更多的学生，特别是女性和少数族裔，该项目将创建一个更加多样化和包容性的科学界，从而在STEM领域实现新的发现和创新。在骨关节炎的早期阶段，关节软骨破裂，关节发炎，导致疼痛和活动能力降低。阻碍骨关节炎有效治疗发展的主要挑战之一是缺乏对关节内不同机械、生化和细胞过程如何相互作用的理解。该项目旨在通过研究金刚石纳米颗粒如何与关节细胞和组织相互作用以减少损伤和炎症来解决这一挑战。研究人员将研究金刚石纳米颗粒对生物组织的影响，以及它们如何通过表面功能化影响细胞健康。功能化纳米金刚石将分析其在体液中保持分散和逃避巨噬细胞攻击的能力，以建立功能化与生物相容性潜力之间的相关性。掌握这些基本知识将有助于理解纳米材料与生物细胞之间的相互作用，这将对基于纳米粒子的治疗和疗法的进步产生重大而广泛的影响。这将是特别有用的治疗关节相关的条件，如骨关节炎，导致减少疼痛，改善活动能力，并防止进一步的关节损伤。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Collaborative Research: Combined Tribological and Bactericidal Effect of Bioinjectable Nanodiamonds on Biological JointsAbstract: PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYOsteoarthritis is a common condition that affects the joints, especially those in the hips and knees. As people age, the cartilage in their joints can break down, causing pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. This makes performing everyday activities, like walking, climbing stairs, and even getting out of a chair, very difficult. Although there are treatments available for osteoarthritis, like oral pain medication and injections, they only provide temporary relief and do not cure the disease. As a result, surgery that replaces the damaged joint with an artificial one could be the only viable option. However, this surgery is a very difficult procedure that requires a lengthy recovery period and carries additional risks for seniors with underlying health conditions. Use of nanoparticles can potentially help in treating the early stages of tissue failures but there is a lack of knowledge about their interactions with biological tissues. That is why the goal of this project is to understand the processes happening upon nanoparticles contacting heathy and damaged tissues. The researchers propose to focus on diamond nanoparticles as a controlled system of study. The project will focus on understanding the mechanisms of interactions of these tiny particles with biological tissues and immune cell. In addition to the research itself, this project also aims to provide educational opportunities for students in the fields of materials science, biomedical engineering, and surface science. By engaging more students, especially women and minorities, the project will create a more diverse and inclusive scientific community, enabling new discoveries and innovations in the STEM fields.PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARYIn the early stages of osteoarthritis, the cartilage in the joints breaks down and the joint becomes inflamed, leading to pain and reduced mobility. One of the major challenges preventing the development of effective osteoarthritis treatment is the lack of understanding how the different mechanical, biochemical, and cellular processes within the joint interact with each other. This project aims to address this challenge by studying how diamond nanoparticles interact with joint cells and tissues to reduce damage and inflammation. The researchers will examine the effects of diamond nanoparticles on biological tissues and how they impact cell health as a function of the surface functionalization. The functionalized nanodiamonds will be analyzed for their ability to stay dispersed in body fluids and to escape macrophage attack to establish the correlation between the functionalization and the biocompatibility potential. Acquiring this essential knowledge will aid in comprehending the interactions between nanomaterials and biological cells, which will have a significant broader impact on the advancement of nanoparticle-based treatments and therapies. This will be particularly useful for treating joint-related conditions such as osteoarthritis, leading to decreased pain, improved mobility, and the prevention of further joint damage.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.