Biomolecular Materials: Structure, Phase Behavior, and Interactions

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

This combined experiment and theory project is in the area of soft condensed matter physics. The research will explore phases, structures, and interactions, in supramolecular assemblies of filamentous cytoskeletal proteins and their associated biomolecules. The importance of the experiments lies in their potential to uncover the origin of fundamentally new attractive forces between charged biological polymers, which can lead to new states or arrangements of matter. The project should shed light on the physics of charged polymers, which constitute a group of technologically important industrial materials. The program trains graduate students in state-of-the-art techniques required to address complex multidisciplinary problems at the interface between physics, engineering, chemistry, and biology. The research includes structure characterization at National Synchrotron X-ray Laboratories and in-house imaging with laser-scanning confocal microscopy. This will provide student training in research settings where traditional discipline boundaries between physics, engineering, chemistry, and biology, have been removed, and teamwork and problem solving are emphasized. This will prepare the students to tackle and solve complex technological problems in their careers in academe, industry, or government. This combined experiment and theory project is in the area of soft condensed matter physics. The research focuses on producing and characterizing novel materials that are obtained when biological polymers (e.g. proteins) are brought together to form new structures with dimensions between one-billionth of a meter and one-thousandths of a meter. New "composite" materials in this size range can have technological applications in areas such as molecular-based chemical sensors, molecular sieves for separations and purification technologies, and chemical and drug delivery vehicles. The project is highly interdisciplinary and exposes graduate students to a broad spectrum of techniques. These include state-of-the-art structure characterization with synchrotron x-ray diffraction at National Synchrotron X-ray Laboratories, and in-house imaging with cutting edge optical and electron microscopes. The educational significance and impact of this interdisciplinary project, at the interface between physics, engineering, chemistry, and biology, is in the training of students with a broad outlook toward problem solving. They will be valuable not only in academic settings, but also in the industrial and government job force where interdisciplinary research is required and rewarded.