Carolyn Bertozzi, Scientific
Director
Ron Zuckermann, Facility Director
The research program of this facility is closely
aligned to two of the Foundry’s primary research themes - the interfacing
of organic and inorganic materials and supramolecular synthesis using
nanoscale building blocks. As in most of the facilities, internal
research and User projects are well-integrated, with User projects
capitalizing on technologies developed in-house, and with technologies
developed in the course of User projects becoming part of the facility’s
offered expertise.
Efforts towards the engineering of inorganic/organic interfaces include
the study of biopolymer and protein mediated biomineralization, the
bio-functionalization of inorganic nanocrystals, and the connecting
of cells to electrical devices. Other work in this area includes
the targeting of fluorescent nanocrystals to specific intracellular
targets for biological imaging, and adding highly specific molecular
recognition functionality to sensor devices.
Supramolecular synthesis efforts center around the mimicry of biological
architectures. We are studying a class of bio-inspired polymer
called peptoids, which are chemically diverse, stable and fold into
3-dimensional shapes. The self-assembly of these materials
is being studied and applied to problems in materials science, solar
energy and the elucidation of biological mechanisms.
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Selected Internal and User Research
Topics
- Biomimetic synthesis of organic/inorganic
composite bone-like materials
- Biomimetic coatings for carbon nanotubes
- Carbon
nanotube cell nanoinjectors
- Quantum dots with bioactive surfaces
- New inorganic
nanoparticles for biological imaging
- New genetically-encoded peptide-organic
fluorophore complexes
- DNA-functionalized quantum dots for tracking
RNA in live neurons
- High specificity receptors for nanosensor
devices
- Peptoid polymer synthesis
- Artificial
enzymes
- Self-assembly of super-stable helical units
- Nanoparticle-based
transfection reagents
- Harvesting light with immobilized bacteria
on nano-patterned electrodes
- Nanoporous membranes for ethanol separation
- Biogenic
fabrication of novel catalytic, magnetic and semi-conducting
nanomaterialsPreparation and Characterization of Derivatized
- Protein
Nanotubes
- Combinatorial synthesis of polyamine catalysts
for condensation of silica
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