The Environmental Chemical Sciences (ECS) program of the Division of Chemistry will support the research program of Prof. Albena Ivanisevic of Purdue University. Prof. Ivanisevic and her students will develop novel surface functionalization methods to form peptide coatings that passivate GaP surfaces in order to prevent the release of toxic Ga in biological systems, test the long term stability of peptide-coated GaP films, nanoparticles and nanowires in physiologically relevant conditions, and understand the molecular phenomena that govern their survival or deterioration under different environmental conditions. The specific aims of the study are: i) Explore surface functionalization schemes that result in the immobilization of peptides on GaP with high coverage and reproducibility while preventing the reformation of oxide on the semiconductor surface; ii) Quantify the amount of inorganic material released under different environmental conditions and use analytical tools to understand the processes associated with surface degradation; iii) Correlate stability under different environmental conditions with bio-recognition properties using Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) and clinically relevant samples.
Effective passivation of GaP surafces by peptide coatings will enable the application of GaP materials in biosensing platforms used in biological systems. It will also alleviate toxicity concerns associated with the wide spread use of GaP and other III-V semiconductor materials in the electronics industry. The project will provide excellent educational opportunities for students, including some from under represented groups, desiring to work at the interdiciplinary research area of nanomaterials toxicity.
