Research Initiation Award: Surface modification of thiol-terminated silicon to build reusable antifouling layer

Paine College, Augusta GA

Investigators

Abstract

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Research Initiation Awards (RIAs) provide support to STEM junior faculty at HBCUs who are starting to build a research program, as well as for mid-career faculty who may have returned to the faculty ranks after holding an administrative post or who needs to redirect and rebuild a research program. Faculty members may pursue research at their home institution, at an NSF-funded Center, at a research intensive institution or at a national laboratory. The RIA projects are expected to help further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, to improve research and teaching at his or her home institution, and to involve undergraduate students in research experiences. With support from the National Science Foundation, Paine College will conduct research to develop bio-fouling resistant surfaces. The project will enhance the research capabilities of the PI as well as teaching and learning at Paine College. The project will provide undergraduate students with research opportunities and advance skills in chemistry. This experience will help to build the competency of the undergraduate students and support the nation's efforts in building a robust STEM workforce. This study will investigate an approach that will allow thiol-terminated surfaces to be used and re-used by attaching molecules with antifouling functional groups via a disulfide bond. The specific objectives are to: 1) engineer silicon-based thin films for antifouling functionalization; and 2) confirm antifouling function of chemically modified substrates. Findings from this project will provide new knowledge on silicon surface modification. This approach may be used for the modification of surfaces of other materials, such as carbon-based materials. The development of techniques for surface modification also can be used for building protein arrays with nano-sized features on silicon or carbon surfaces. The results of this project may be transferable to the shipping and biomedical industries, and become a solution to reduce the costs associated with fouling. This project will be conducted in collaboration with Marshall University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.