This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The goal of this proposal is to create and understand active cell culture substrates using surface shape memory and, in parallel, to study unique properties of shape memory polymers (SMPs) that promise broad application in biological and biomedical fields. To achieve this goal, a series of coordinated objectives will be pursued. SMP material characteristics will be tuned by systematically varying temperature transition, elasticity, and soft-elasticity plateau. The micron-scale viscoelastic constitutive behavior of SMPs of varying phase composition, orientation, and crosslink density will be determined using a new lateral force indentation method. The biocompatibility and amenability to cell culture of SMPs will be rigorously evaluated using the agar diffusion assay to quantify cytotoxicity, the MTS tetrazolium colorimetric assay to quantify cell attachment kinetics, and measurement of modulus, gel fraction, phase transition temperature, and microstructure to analyze long term stability in an aqueous environment. Methods for preparing surface SMPs that transition from a flat surface to a complex surface geometry, and vice versa, will be studied by employing processes that prescribe equilibrium shapes then fix temporary shapes with embossing. Complex surface geometries for application in active cell culture will be designed following analysis of established, bioactive surface geometries. Methods for cell-compatible thermocycling of liquid crystalline elastomer substrates and in situ imaging of the cell response will be developed using a heated stage and reflected light microscopy. Lastly, proof-of-concept active cell culture substrates with specific target uses, such as directing cell lineage specification, stretching cells, assaying cell traction forces, and orienting and patterning fields of homogeneous cells or heterogeneous cells, will be developed.
BROADER IMPACTS: The goal of the proposal is to create a new multimedia program, entitled At the Interface, to educate the public about research at the biology/engineering interface. The program will target high-school students and the non-technical public while also providing a useful entry point for scientists and engineers who may want to proceed to more technical assessment of the topics covered. Biomaterials will frequently be used as a theme, but diverse topics from all areas of the research interface will be addressed. A collaborating team of students and faculty from the Syracuse S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications has been assembled to add to the expertise of the PI and co-PI in the areas of magazine, newspaper, and online journalism and television, radio, and film journalism. The team will achieve its goal by pursuit of the following focused objectives: (1) Produce short videos showcasing current research at the interface of biology and engineering to be hosted on the website of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute. (2) Produce brief (<5 min) educational radio spots that report on technological advances at the interface for broadcast on the central New York NPR affiliate, WRVO. (3) Develop short text-based summaries of all video and radio pieces to be available in the form of press releases in English and Spanish. (4) Develop and deploy metrics for assessing the penetration of the video, radio, and text platforms in the community and the resulting impact on public understanding. (5) Study the potential for the video and radio platforms to be expanded to include more content and a larger audience.
