Project Theme 6: Nanoscale Engineering of Lipoprotein-Retentive Substrates
Faculty Advisors:
Moghe (BME), Uhrich, Castner & Talaga (CCB), Tomassone (CBE), Bartynski & Zimmerman (PA)
Crossdisciplinary Bridging:
Bioengineering, Polymer Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biophysics
Lipoprotein-interactive interfaces require a structurally cohesive, yet mobile display of electrostatic charges. Parallel projects will investigate the physicochemical determinants of LDL-retentive substrates using inorganic and polymeric substrates. Immobile surfaces such as silicon substrates provide an opportunity to measure electrostatic potentials, whereas polymeric materials can be mobilized. Here, nanoscale multibranched dendrimer-like molecules (see picture) will be designed with variable branching to locally control the presentation of terminal groups within glycosaminoglycans for targeting and retention of low density lipoproteins. Ligand retention dynamics and lipoprotein/polymer interactions will be experimentally probed using single molecule confocal spectroscopy (28) and femtosecond scanning probe microscopy techniques (29), and theoretically modeled using molecular dynamic simulations (30). Ultimate applications include diagnostics of lipid profiles in the body as well as vascular therapies for atherosclerosis.
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