RII Track-4:NSF: Design of Bioresponsive Liquid Crystal Droplets for Sensing in Cellular Environments

RII Track-4：NSF：用于细胞环境传感的生物响应液晶液滴的设计

• 批准号: 2327449
• 负责人: Claribel Acevedo-Velez
• 金额: $ 29.99万
• 依托单位: University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-11-15 至 2026-10-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2327449&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RII; Track; NSF; Design; Bioresponsive

The detection of biological analytes is critical in many industrial and healthcare settings. For example, a major challenge in the large-scale production of cell-based therapeutic products is the need for scalable, rapid, and sensitive tools for monitoring microbial contamination to ensure product safety. This project will generate fundamental knowledge toward designing sensing platforms based on microscale droplets of thermotropic liquid crystals (LCs) for detecting microbial contaminants in cell culture media. Previous research has shown the remarkable sensitivity of droplet-based LC sensors when detecting chemical and biological analytes in aqueous solutions. This approach offers several advantages, including a straightforward detection scheme (i.e., observation of LC droplets before and after exposure to an analyte), small sample volume required for analysis (microliters), and the use of basic research instrumentation (e.g., optical microscopes with polarized light attachments). LC droplets thus provide a promising tool for developing rapidly deployable sensing platforms. The knowledge generated can be applied to the development of sensors for a wide range of analytes of societal importance, such as emerging environmental contaminants. The NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4 Research Fellows project will foster education and training of underrepresented minorities at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and the advancement of women in STEM through mentorship and cross-disciplinary research opportunities with extended visits to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This project seeks to develop guidelines for designing sensing platforms based on microscale droplets of thermotropic LCs for the rapid, sensitive, and selective detection of microbial contaminants in cellular environments. LC droplets provide useful and versatile platforms for the sensitive detection of a wide range of analytes in aqueous environments (i.e., surfactants, lipids, proteins, cells). The detection scheme is based on changes in the optical appearance of LC droplets upon exposure to an analyte. These changes can be readily observed, in real-time, using polarized light microscopy. However, from a practical perspective, the potential of these materials remains limited because LC droplets are not colloidally stable. To address this challenge, the project will develop approaches for designing LC droplet-based sensors with improved shelf-life stability and enhanced detection sensitivity. Using nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable surface chemistries and that adsorb to the LC interface leads to LC droplets that are stable for extended periods ( 3 months). This project also aims to develop NP-decorated LC droplets for the design of bioresponsive materials to detect microbial contaminants in cellular environments. A cross-disciplinary approach will be implemented to evaluate and quantify the changes in the optical responses of NP-decorated LC droplets upon exposure to model phospholipid membranes of varying compositions and to live cells (e.g., fungi, bacteria, mammalian cells). The experimental results will establish relationships between NP surface chemistry and the detection sensitivity of NP-stabilized LC droplets toward different types of lipid membranes and cells and will provide insights into the potential of surface-modified NPs to impart selectivity to the LC-based sensing system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

生物分析物的检测在许多工业和医疗保健环境中至关重要，例如，大规模生产基于细胞的治疗产品的一个主要挑战是需要可扩展、快速且灵敏的工具来监测微生物污染，以确保产品的质量。该项目将产生设计基于热致液晶 (LC) 微型液滴的传感平台的基础知识，用于检测细胞培养基中的微生物污染物。先前的研究表明，基于液滴的 LC 传感器具有卓越的灵敏度。当检测水溶液中的化学和生物分析物时，这种方法具有多种优点，包括简单的检测方案（即在接触分析物之前和之后观察 LC 液滴）、分析所需的样品量较小（微升）以及使用方便。因此，基础研究仪器（例如带有偏振光附件的光学显微镜）为开发快速部署的传感平台提供了一种有前途的工具。广泛的具有社会重要性的分析人员，例如新出现的环境污染物，NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4 研究人员项目将促进波多黎各马亚圭斯大学 (UPRM)（西班牙裔服务机构）对代表性不足的少数群体的教育和培训，该项目旨在通过对威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的长期访问，提供指导和跨学科研究机会，以提高女性在 STEM 领域的地位。用于快速、灵敏和选择性检测细胞环境中微生物污染物的热致液晶为灵敏检测水环境中的各种分析物（即表面活性剂、脂质、蛋白质、细胞）提供了有用且通用的平台。该检测方案基于液晶液滴暴露于分析物后光学外观的变化，这些变化可以使用偏光显微镜轻松实时观察到。然而，从实际角度来看，这些材料的潜力仍然有限，因为液晶液滴胶体不稳定。为了应对这一挑战，该项目将开发设计基于液晶液滴的传感器的方法，以提高保质期稳定性和增强检测灵敏度。使用具有可调节表面化学性质并吸附到液晶界面的纳米颗粒 (NP) 可以产生长时间稳定（3 个月）的液晶液滴。用于设计生物响应材料来检测细胞环境中的微生物污染物，将采用跨学科方法来评估和量化 NP 修饰的 LC 液滴在暴露于不同成分的模型磷脂膜和活体后的光学响应变化。实验结果将建立 NP 表面化学与 NP 稳定的 LC 液滴对不同类型脂质的检测灵敏度之间的关系。膜和细胞，并将深入了解表面改性纳米粒子为基于液晶的传感系统赋予选择性的潜力。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持标准。