Aptamer-based smart materials for biosensing and delivery applications

“智能”材料是一类新兴的多功能材料，其物理或化学性质在响应外部刺激时可被控制地改变。通过将先进材料的特性与适应环境变化的能力相结合，这些材料在传感和药物输送方面得到了应用。虽然许多智能材料对物理或化学刺激（pH值，温度）有反应，但对特定分子或生物分子敏感的智能材料的开发是一个越来越受关注的话题。这些系统的制备涉及到能够识别目标分子的组件（分子识别探针）的集成。适配体是一种分子识别探针，具有许多独特的特性，使其非常适合于新型智能材料系统。适配体是合成的DNA或RNA，它们折叠成不同的纳米级形状，能够以高亲和力和特异性与目标分子结合。DNA适配体的易于合成和标记，低成本和稳定性使它们特别有吸引力纳入智能材料。***本提案旨在开发新的基于适配体的智能材料系统，该系统展示了适配体包含导致的靶分子触发变化。基于适配体的智能材料开发方法多种多样。该提案将探索两种有前途的智能材料：水凝胶和聚电解质多层材料。这项工作的总体目标是将基于适配体的系统从那些提供简单的目标存在报告的系统转变为那些将目标的存在作为刺激来触发材料变化的系统（例如材料的降解或分子有效载荷的释放，例如药物或营养素）。拟议的研究计划建立在卡尔顿大学适体发现和新兴研究开发实验室（LADDER）的现有工作基础上，并研究适体技术与材料科学和纳米技术的结合，以产生具有先进可调性能的智能材料。该研究项目将为合理设计创新型适配体智能材料提供基础和概念框架。这些智能材料将应用于从农业（农用化学品输送）到医学（药物输送）的各个领域。在这个项目中训练的学生将受益于丰富的跨学科环境，他们将在适体的合成和应用以及纳米材料和聚合物系统的制备和表征方面获得宝贵的经验。他们还将受益于与具有不同背景和专业知识的合作者和最终用户在开发用于农业、环境和卫生的新型反应材料方面的互动

"Smart" materials are an emerging class of multifunctional materials whose physical or chemical properties are controllably altered in response to an external stimulus. By combining the properties of an advanced material with the ability to adapt in response to a change in their environment, these materials are finding applications in sensing and drug delivery. While many smart materials respond to physical or chemical stimuli (pH, temperature), the development of smart materials that are sensitive to specific molecules or biomolecules is a topic of growing interest. Preparation of these systems involves the integration of a component that can recognize the target molecule (molecular recognition probe).  Aptamers are molecular recognition probes that have many unique properties that make them well-suited to novel smart material systems.  Aptamers are synthetic DNA or RNA that fold into distinct nanoscale shapes capable of binding with high affinity and specificity to a target molecule. The ease of synthesis and labeling, low cost, and stability of DNA aptamers make them particularly attractive for incorporation into smart materials.***This proposal aims to develop new aptamer-based smart material systems that demonstrate target-molecule-triggered changes as a result of aptamer inclusion. There is a rich diversity of approaches for aptamer-based smart material development. This proposal will explore two promising classes of smart materials: hydrogels and polyelectrolyte multilayers. The overarching goal of this work is to move aptamer-based systems from those that provide simple reporting on the presence of a target to ones where the presence of the target is used as a stimulus to trigger changes to the material (e.g. degradation of the material or release of a molecular payload, such as a drug or nutrient).  The proposed research program builds on the current work in Carleton University's Laboratory for Aptamer Discovery and Development of Emerging Research (LADDER) and examines the marriage of aptamer technology with material science and nanotechnology to yield smart materials with advanced, tunable properties. ***This research program will provide the foundation and conceptual framework needed for the rational design of innovative aptamer-based smart materials.  These smart materials will find applications in a variety of fields from agriculture (agrochemical delivery) to medicine (drug delivery).  Students trained in this program will benefit from a rich, interdisciplinary environment where they will gain valuable experience in the synthesis and application of aptamers and the preparation and characterization of nanomaterials and polymer systems. They will also benefit from interactions with collaborators and end-users of varied backgrounds and expertise in the development of new responsive materials for agriculture, environment, and health.**