Non-technical: These Collaborative awards by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to University of Pennsylvania and University of Massachusetts at Lowell are to investigate the mechanical behavior of the structural component of blood clots, the fibrin gel. Long-term goal project is to modify fibrin to create distinctive new biomaterials for cell and drug delivery, patterning, and tissue engineering. With this award, the researchers will study the mechanical properties of fibrin clots at the macroscopic, microscopic and submolecular levels to understand the basis of their functional behavior. A key novelty of this work is combined state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical exploration to understand the mechanical behavior of fibrin networks at these different spatial scales. This research will provide opportunities for training of post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students in the highly interdisciplinary areas of nanotechnology and biophysics, with attention to broadening the participation of underrepresented groups. The scientific community will be reached by organizing symposia in international conferences, and by presenting research findings regularly, as well as the NSF-funded Nano/Bio Interface Center for NanoDay and other activities targeted at minority students and teachers in nearby high schools.
The research objective of this proposal is to understand the mechanical behavior of fibrin gels with the long-term goal of modifying fibrin to create distinctive new biomaterials for cell and drug delivery, patterning, and tissue engineering. Earlier studies by the researchers have demonstrated that the remarkable extensibility of fibrin clots has its origins in the unfolding of particular domains of the fibrin molecule, with the stress-strain response of an individual fiber connected to the force-stretch dependence at the nanoscale. Researchers plan to define the molecular structural and thermodynamic basis of fibrin deformability and viscoelasticity. A key novelty of this work is combined experimental and theoretical exploration to understand the tensile behavior of fibrin networks at different spatial scales, from submolecular (atomic) to macroscopic levels. This goal will be achieved by combining state-of-the-art experimental methodology with novel Molecular Dynamics simulations and a comprehensive continuum mechanics model. This research will provide opportunities for training of post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students in the highly interdisciplinary areas of nanotechnology and biophysics, with attention to broadening the participation of underrepresented groups. The scientific findings will be disseminated by organizing symposia in both national and international levels. The research findings will be presented to community by attending other scientific meetings, as well as the NSF-funded Nano/Bio Interface Center for NanoDay and other activities targeting minority students and teachers in high schools.
