Non-technical: One of the challenges for chemists and engineers is to arrange molecules in a well-defined order on nanometer to millimeter length scales; such order is essential to create materials with predictable and unique properties. For example, nature creates large biological structures by arranging biomolecules in a particular order to produce materials with high strength, high elasticity or conductivity and so on. Humans have yet to successfully mimic this extraordinary ability of nature to form complex but well-ordered assemblies, and it remains one of the challenges, which makes this a high risk but high pay-off project and suitable for the EAGER program. The spontaneous formation of highly ordered assemblies of DNA and proteins on millimeter scales were serendipitously discovered in the PIs laboratory. Systematic studies are proposed to learn how these assemblies are formed in the laboratory, under very simple conditions of simply mixing of the reagents, so that important insights into how to form and manipulate these assemblies from nanometers to millimeters can be gained. These super structures may find use in solar light capture, conversion to liquid fuels, DNA-computers or advanced biomaterials. During this award period a number of graduate, undergraduate and high school students will be trained in the state-of-the-art and interdisciplinary methodology developed here.
Nature has the ability to form complex biomolecular super structures on nanometer to millimeter length scales. The construction of such elegant assemblies with extraordinary detail is highly promising for practical applications. These assemblies could potentially be transformative while leading to the creation of new areas of research in biomolecular assembly for DNA-based electronics, bio-electronic components, bio-solar cells, bio-fuel cells or biomaterials for cellular patterning. Recently, artificially created protein and DNA molecules were observed to form extraordinary assemblies that are rectilinear in shape with order ranging from nanometers to millimeters, all via self-assembly, in the PI's laboratory. Understanding the complex mechanism of this assembly formation and unraveling the fundamental forces that drive it would allow a major advancement in the construction of complex, functional, advanced, novel biomaterials. To address this challenge, the protein and DNA structure will be systematically modified at the molecular level and minimum required features for the assembly formation will be established. Advanced methods such as TEM, AFM, flow-dichroism, nanocalorimetry, SEM and polarization microscopy will be used to examine organization on various length scales which will enable the elucidation of the mechanism of self-assembly. Broader impacts of this project are two-fold. One is that these highly novel biomaterials may be of value for tissue-scaffolds, sensing, cell-growth, biomolecular electronics, DNA-computing and solar energy applications. The second aspect is the educational component, where high school, undergraduate and graduate students will be trained in biomaterials design, biomolecular assembly and biological spectroscopy. The research training will be integrated with project goals.
