Charles Rice of the University of Oklahoma is supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to use high-resolution magic angle spinning and multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques to examine the structure and dynamics of specific peptides involved in cell adhesion and growth on two-dimensional surfaces. Peptide coatings on silica will be studied as a model of hard-tissue implants, and bioactive hydrogels formed by acrylamide polymers that have been modified with peptides will be studied to simulate tissue-scaffold materials. Peptides that contain the arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) are known to reduce inflammation, pain, immune response, and rejection when used as a biomaterial coating. A variety of RGD-coated silica and RGD-hydrogel samples will be characterized, first with the aim of understanding the rules of RGD presentation, with the ultimate goal of creating new silica-based and hydrogel biomaterials.
Materials science and biological chemistry have converged with significant impacts, particularly with respect to advances in tissue implants and devices. Chemical analysis and NMR spectroscopy can enable new understanding of biomolecular structure, information that may lead to new biomaterial paradigms. This project includes an education plan that aims to expose high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to cutting edge research. This effort will include an outreach program to high school students and their teachers, involving the synthesis and evaluation of biomaterials. As well, the PI will develop new curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
