This CAREER award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to SUNY at Buffalo is to develop a new class of biocompatible vesicles with specialized membranes. Permeability of these membranes would be programmed and controlled when activated by light. As part of this project, cargo-loaded vesicles that are sensitive to multiple wavelengths will be developed such that the release of multiple cargos release would be discretely controlled by using different wavelengths of light. Biomaterials that allow for robust external control of membrane permeability are, at present, constrained by poor stability and/or poor control of permeability. Lipid-enclosed compartments in living systems play a central role in serving as the general barrier between external and internal biomolecules and chemicals. A wide range of protein-based transport systems have evolved in living systems to permit the movement of molecules through membranes without destroying the overall membrane integrity. These transport systems are usually specific only for certain cargo and are not suitable as general-purpose gateways for natural or synthetic phospholipid-enclosed compartments and cargos.
Graduate students supported by this award will lead a cutting-edge materials research on lipid membranes with controllable permeability. Additionally, this award will assist in solidifying a robust educational and research training program in the recently established Biomedical Engineering Department, SUNY at Buffalo. This program is expected to develop into a vital part of the economic and social fabric of Western New York. In addition, this research program will provide opportunities for underrepresented minorities and undergraduate students with a first-class research training program that will allow them to hone their skills for a lifetime career in science.
This award is to develop a new class of vesicles with highly programmable and controllable membranes that are permeable when the vesicles are activated by Near Infrared light. Earlier studies by this researcher has indicated that porphyrin-phospholipid (PoP) entities can self-assemble into liposome-like vesicles with unusual biophotonic properties. It was also determined on how to induce transient permeability of PoP liposomes using near infrared (NIR) light. This system was later developed to a target cargo-loaded liposomes by simple aqueous incubation of histidine-tagged peptides with cobalt-PoP (Co-PoP) liposomes. With this award, this researcher will develop new biomaterials with exquisite control of when, how and where the light-induced membrane permeability occurs in liposome-like vesicles. As part of this project, multiple vesicles with varying lipid compositions will be developed with different membrane permeability properties such that the release of multiple cargos from these liposomes can be discretely controlled by using different wavelengths of light. The main aims of the proposal are: 1) to develop different porphyrin-phospholipid systems with controlled rates of light-triggered cargo release; 2) to use multi-channel NIR light to control the release of different cargos; and 3) to create ligand-targeted liposomes with light-triggered permeability. In addition to supporting an intensive research and teaching program, this CAREER award will provide training to both graduate and undergraduate students.
