Assembly of Biomaterials in Multiphase Liquid Systems

这项研究将开发在实验室中建立生物组织模型的策略。我的实验室将使用几组水基材料，它们会自发地彼此分离(很像油和水的混合物)，以限制建立这些模型所需的生物成分，并将它们组织成有用的配置。这些系统的独特性质将消除基于机器的方法施加的实际限制。实现这一长期目标的一个重要步骤将是确定显示分离和组装行为的有用材料。为了识别这些材料，将筛选各种合成和天然聚合物，以选择具有多个单独区域(相)的系统，以促进组织构建块的排列(自组装)。这些系统将被用来建立组织界面的模型，例如，身体中肌肉和骨骼系统相交的区域，以及充当屏障的身体各种组织(例如，皮肤和肠道)。这项技术将导致开发更好的模型来理解生物过程和药物/毒素测试。**

This research will develop strategies for building models of biological tissues in the laboratory. My laboratory will use sets of water-based materials that spontaneously separate from one another (much like oil and water mixtures) to confine the biological components required to build these models and organize them into useful configurations. The unique properties of these systems will eliminate practical constraints imposed by machine-based approaches. An essential step to achieving this long term goal will be to identify useful materials that display separation and assembly behavior. To identify these materials, a variety of synthetic and natural polymers will be screened to select systems with multiple separate zones (phases) that promote the arrangement (self-assembly) of tissue building-blocks. These systems will be used to build models of tissue interfaces, for example, the regions in the body where the muscular and the skeletal system meet and the various tissues of the body that serve as barriers (for example, the skin and gut). This technology will lead to the development of better models for understanding biological processes and pharmaceutical/toxin testing.**