Proposal Number: CTS-0631280 Principal Investigator: Bobba, Kumar M. Affiliation: University of Massachussetts Amherst Proposal Title: SGER: Unsteady Fluid Mechanics of Nanoscale Vesicles of Lipid Bilayer, Fluid Membranes: Novel Drug Carriers
This proposal has undergone internal review. The aim of the proposed exploratory research is to investigate behavior of nanoscale vesicle fluid dynamics.
Intellectual Merit:
The chemical, dynamic, structural and material properties of vesicles and the important transport role that they play in the cellular processes make them an object of central interest in cell biology. The primary objective of this proposal is (a) to develop good models for vesicles based on continuum fluid mechanics and (b) to do a systematic and rigorous theoretical and computational study of instabilities in vesicles of fluid membranes. A unified multiscale framework will be developed, wherein the fluid bilayer membrane will be modeled as a Navier-Stokes fluid on a two-dimensional curved surface and the surrounding water will be modeled as an incompressible, Stokesian fluid in a volume.
Broader Impacts:
Apart from their intrinsic scientific interest, vesicles can also be used to build biomachines for controlled drug delivery, gene therapy, etc. and hence are of technological and practical importance. The work will provide graduate and undergraduate research opportunities, and outcomes will be incorporated into teaching activities.
