This CAREER award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supports research by Professor Juan C. Noveron at the University of Texas at El Paso to investigate the supramolecular chemistry of metallo-lipid complexes in water. Systematic modifications in the molecular structure will be carried out to establish structure-function relationships. Supramolecular phase transitions in water induced by redox- and ligand-exchange reactions will be studied using X-ray spectroscopy and microscopy methods. Encapsulation of DNA plasmids of 5 to 15 Kbp with the metallo-lipid complexes will be investigated, and the structure and thermodynamic stability of DNA-condensates will be determined. Intrinsically fluorescent metallo-lipid complexes will be used to study the mechanism of DNA-condensation and to assess intracellular delivery. A sustained engagement with science classes of a middle school and a high school from the El Paso area will offer NSF's Peer-Led-Team-Learning (PLTL) activities once a month for the duration of the award. Undergraduate students in their middle years will be trained to become mentors to the middle and high school students during these activities. An upper division class focused on science and on english composition will be offered once a year. The production of a TV documentary about undergraduate STEM research student will be developed in collaboration with the University's production unit.
The design of molecules with self-organized behavior in water can potentially afford materials with useful applications in emerging technologies and eventually medicine. Metal-mediated supramolecular vehicles designed with DNA-delivery functions may play important roles as biotechnology tools and eventually gene vaccines. The use of redox- and ligand-triggered supramolecular phase transitions in water will pave the way to intracellularly activated delivery systems in the future.
This CAREER award in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry program supported the research by Professor Juan C. Noveron at the University of Texas at El Paso to investigate the design and synthesis of molecules that self-organize into nanomaterials in water to advance the development of molecular systems with potential applications in DNA-based medicine and emerging technologies. During the award period, twenty five new molecules (compounds 1 – 25, Fig. 1) were synthesized and their self-organization directed by transition metals and hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions was studied and led to the development of nanomaterials with hierarchical self-organization that function as (1) DNA-delivery vehicles, some of which were used to deliver a DNA-vaccine against the Leishmania parasite, (2) anti-cancer compounds, (3) rapid gene-sensors for real-time medical diagnostics of infectious diseases, (4) antibiotic compounds for multidrug resistant bacteria, and (5) chemo-sensors, Figure 1. The research generated 4 provisional patents pending, 41 presentations in regional and national conferences, and 18 scientific articles out of which 8 have been published and the remaining are under review or are under preparation and will be published in the near future. During the award period, six students won national awards for undergraduate and graduate research in national competitions held during the American Chemical Society National Conference, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans National Conference, the National Agri-science Education Conference, and the Intercultural Cancer Council Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved & Health Equity, Figure 2. The PI was also recipient of the UT Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. The grant supported the research of 44 undergraduates and 12 graduate students from STEM disciplines, out of which the majority are from underrepresented minority groups and women. Seven graduate students completed the M.S. degree in Chemistry, two completed the Ph.D. degree in Chemistry, and three doctoral students are expected to graduate in the near future. During the award period, the project also involved the participation of 202 undergraduate students in STEM who were trained twice a week by the PI and another faculty member to serve as Peer-leaders of workshops that implemented Peer-led Team Learning (PLTL) activities for the General Chemistry I and II classes that served nearly 1,200 students annually. The PLTL-workshops were designed to provide students with (1) a small-classroom college experience, (2) hands-on explorations of natural phenomena that enriched their learning experience, (3) active learning activities led by peer- leaders, (4) collaborative- and cooperative-learning activities, and (5) peer-mentoring, Figure 3. The recipient students of General Chemistry were fascinated by this intervention as indicated by the overwhelming support for this approach from student surveys. It enhanced the success rate of General Chemistry by 25%. This program had an enormous impact on the Peer-leaders because they became extraordinary STEM students with outstanding leadership skills and deep understanding of STEM fundamentals, as well as conscious of the learning process and challenges in improving higher education. There was 97% academic retention among the Peer-leaders and the program inspired many of them to pursue teaching careers in science at the K-12- and college-levels. The PI also trained 52 High School science teachers from the local school districts who were enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching Science (MAT-in-Science) program at UTEP, Figure 4. The PI taught five MAT-in-Science graduate courses in which the teachers enrolled and which covered hands-on training on active learning activities on modern topics of General Chemistry appropriate for K-12 science education. The teachers also helped coordinate presentations by the PI about STEM at the local K-12 schools. In addition, 7 High School teachers participated in research projects in the laboratory of the PI in which they developed innovative teaching laboratories for K-12 science courses.
