Tools for Design and Engineering of Hybrid Nanostructures
Abstract
RESEARCH PROBLEM: Molecular engineering holds great promise to create novel bio-inspired materials and devices that will exceed the performance and sustainability of many existing military technologies.Preliminary research efforts have generally focused on adapting individual biopolymers found in living organisms and coaxing them to self-assemble in a customizable fashion. We now understand" many of the subtleties of crafting simple shapes with these materials, as evidenced by the number and variety of nanostructures tha""t have been produced in the past decade. To date, most shapes have been designed to fold from a single type of biopolymer, and only" a handful of hybrid nanostructures have been created. The next challenge is to extend and generalize hybrid design methods to const"ruct more sophisticated molecular nanostructures that draw inspiration not only from Nature~s raw building materials, but also the d"ynamic formation of multi-polymer complexes. Overcoming this challenge is a crucial step toward realizing the goal of engineering biopolymers to create powerful new technologies that are completely unprecedented in nature.TECHNICAL APPROACHES: To create devices t"hat can perform useful work, we must learn to leverage natural machines that have evolved catalytic behavior. The scope of this proj"ect is to develop methods to integrate nucleic acid nanostructures with dynamic protein machines. Our project has three objectives:(1) -Extend our computer-aided design (CAD) tools to accommodate hybrid nanostructures made from combinations of nucleic acids and p"oteins in a unified graphical interface. (2) Design, synthesize, and characterize a set of molecular building blocks that can be use""d to construct hybrid nanostructures of various sizes, shapes, and functions. (3) Build a proof-of-concept device that leverages DNA" origami for structural patterning of protein modules capable of seeding the growth of microtubule filaments. Our technical approach" for this 5-year project is to focus concurrently on objectives 1 and 2 during budget periods 1~5, culminating in publications and l""imited beta software testing. We will mostly dedicate budget periods 3~6 to advanced application of our methods for objective 3, and"" dissemination via additional publications and open-source software release. ANTICIPATED OUTCOMEOF THE RESEARCH, IF SUCCESSFUL: The" proposed project will produce a series of peer-reviewed papers describing the research outcomes and methods developed. FUTURE NAVAL RELEVANCE: Macromolecules have tremendous potential for adaptation into military-relevant technologies such as high-performance mat"erials, environmental sensors, or artificial muscles. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Shawn M. Douglas, Ph.D. University of California, San" Francisco. TITLE OF PROPOSAL: Tools for Design and Engineering of Hybrid Nanostructures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712627
Entities
People
- Shawn M Douglas
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, San Francisco