The Development and Application of Dynamic Smart Surfaces

哺乳动物细胞不是生活在静态环境中，它们存在于高度进化的动态环境中。在细胞粘附和迁移过程中，细胞通过分化、基因表达、生长和凋亡等多种方式适应和沟通其环境（细胞外基质）。细胞粘附、极化和迁移的方式和时间，通过一些基本的生物过程，如伤口愈合、转移、炎症和胚胎发育，对人类健康至关重要。为了在分子基础上阐明这些重要复杂过程的空间和时间机制，人们正在积极研究开发模拟ECM的体外模型底物。我的实验室领导了这些努力，我们开创了一系列新的表面化学，应用于界面反应的基础研究，以及用于研究细胞粘附、细胞迁移和干细胞分化的智能底物（表面）模型的生成。在过去的5年中，我的实验室在这些领域的高影响力期刊上发表了50多篇论文(11 JACS, Angew。化学。Int。编辑)，在《科学》、《自然》、《千人学院》和《化学与工程新闻》上发表了多篇文章。在未来5年，本项目的总体培训和研究目标是：理解和控制细胞在分子定义良好的模型表面上的行为；为一系列生物分子微阵列生物技术开发智能表面。我们的方法是多学科的，基于新的电活性表面化学，微流体模式，活细胞成像和独特的荧光生物传感器细胞系的界面。我们期待着许多训练有素的跨学科学生，这项研究的结果将有助于创造新的快速和敏感的诊断方法，从而导致对一系列疾病和癌症的有效治疗。

Mammalian cells do not live in static surroundings, they exist in highly evolving dynamic environments. During cell adhesion and migration, cells adapt and communicate to their environment (the extracellular matrix (ECM)) by numerous methods ranging from differentiation, gene expression, growth and apoptosis. How and when cells determine to adhere, polarize and migrate is important to human health via a number of fundamental biological processes such as wound healing, metastasis, inflammation and embryonic development. To elucidate the spatial and temporal mechanisms of these important complex processes on a molecular basis, intense investigation in developing in vitro model substrates that mimic the ECM have been actively pursued. My laboratory has led these efforts and we have pioneered a range of new surface chemistries applied to fundamental studies of interfacial reactions and to the generation of model smart substrates (surfaces) for studies of cell adhesion, cell migration and stem cell differentiation. In the past 5 years, my laboratory has published over 50 papers in these areas in high impact journals (11 JACS, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed,) with several publications highlighted in Science, Nature, Faculty of 1000 and Chemical and Engineering News. In the next 5 years, the overarching training and research goals of this program are to 1. Understand and control cell behaviour on molecularly well-defined model surfaces and 2. To develop smart surfaces for a range of biomolecular microarray biotechnologies. Our approach is multidisciplinary and is based on interfacing new electroactive surface chemistries, microfluidic patterning, live cell imaging and unique fluorescent biosensor cell lines. We anticipate many highly trained interdisciplinary students and that the results of this research will facilitate creating new rapid and sensitive diagnostics that lead to effective treatments for a range of diseases and cancers.