New products and technologies requiring self-assembled fabrication are being developed in widely different areas such as micro and nanoelectronics, optics, materials science, and bioengineering. Self-assembled ultrathin surface materials are particularly attractive for biological applications because they can be engineered to feature enhanced or stimulus-responsive properties such as mechanical strength or biodegradability. This research will develop and characterize adaptive nanobiomaterials whose structures and properties can respond to external stimuli. Physicochemical mechanics and chemical kinetics in ultrathin nanostructured polymer composites will be explored both experimentally and theoretically so that relationships between materials structure and response can be established at the nanoscopic level. Specific project objectives are: a.) elucidation of growth mechanisms of ultrathin nanocomposite surface materials, b.) characterization of mechanical response of these materials under static loading, and c.) measurements of chemical reaction rates in biodegradable thin films in the absence and presence of mechanical stress.
The research work will have a significant impact in emerging technologies in biomedicine since relationships between structure, mechanical response, and chemical kinetics in soft media are not yet clear. This project encompasses an integrative research and education program at Lafayette College, an undergraduate institution, which will expand the participation of undergraduates in cutting edge research while building infrastructure for the introduction of a nanotechnology program at Lafayette. In addition, an international cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany will provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to gain an international summer research experience and cultural exposure that will enhance their development as globally aware young scientists.
