UNDERSTANDING THE MISSION VERSATILITY OF MEMBRANE PROTEINS, MOTOR PROTEINS, AND THE GUT-MICROBIOME INTERFACE WITH NANOSCOPIC IMAGING PLATFORM, GENERATION II
Abstract
The scientific aim of the proposed research is to develop the next generation of a nanoscopic imaging and analysis platform we established—low-dose liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (TEM)—to resolve and understand the working mechanisms of proteins with near-atomic and millisecond resolution in dynamic liquid media. More specifically, a foundational concept in biophysics is that essential biological functions, such as signaling and transport, find their origins in nanoscopic conformation and interaction networks of proteins. However, an inability to image these phenomena with the necessary spatiotemporal resolution in their native environment has been the crux of numerous knowledge gaps. Therefore we propose to bridge these gaps by pushing liquid-phase TEM, achieved by using nano-aquariums composed of atomically thin graphene or silicon nitride windows, to three uncharted areas, including (i) stimulated transformation dynamics of membrane proteins that govern mass and signal flow across cellular membranes, (ii) a miniature biomolecule interaction network associated with intracellular transport and vesicle secretion, and (iii) the nanoscopic interfaces between enteric microbes and epithelial tissue, being a multi-organism communication site associated with a new paradigm in human health: the gut–brain axis. Collectively, the success of the proposed work would help address the goals of the Air Force program to achieve biophysical imaging below the diffraction limit, understand electromagnetic stimulation and bioelectricity at the nanoscale, develop new themes of diet-based human performance augmentation, and potentially realize new strategies to design materials with enhanced autonomy, responsiveness, and miniaturization, as well as a promising frontier of generalizable toolsets to investigate diverse biophysical phenomena at the unprecedented nanoscale.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2021
- Source ID
- FA95502010257
Entities
People
- Qian Chen
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign