Tuesday, October 14, 2003Volume 3, Issue 12
WUN - The Structure and Composition of Protein Films
Professor David G. Castner (visit home page)
National ESCA and Surface
Analysis Center for Biomedical Problems
Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
12:00 p.m.
101 Technology Center
When a biomaterial is implanted into the body, its surface properties determine the types of interactions that occur between the biological environment and the biomaterial. One of the first events to occur is the adsorption of proteins from the surrounding fluid phase. This adsorption is rapid, with the surface properties of the biomaterial determining the type, amount, orientation, conformation and spatial distribution of the adsorbed proteins. The composition and recognizability of the adsorbed protein layer, in turn, affects the subsequent cellular interactions. Thus it is essential to characterize the structure and composition of protein films. With its chemical and surface sensitivity, static time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is an ideal technique for characterizing bound protein films. This talk will highlight how ToF-SIMS, when combined with multivariate analysis methods, can provide information about the identity, composition, orientation, conformation and spatial distribution of proteins bound to surfaces. The use of trehalose coating and glutadehdye cross-linking methods for preserving the hydrated structure of proteins under the UHV conditions of ToF-SIMS analysis will be described. The adsorbed proteins investigated range in complexity from single component films to complex blood plasma films. Results from proteins bound through both direct adsorption and specific chemical immobilization methods will be presented.
2003-2004 Seed Grant Program Winners
Supported by MRSEC, MRI and Huck
Hybrid Metal-Semiconductor-Dielectric Holey Fiber Nanophotonics
John Badding, Department of Chemistry
Venkatraman Gopalan, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Tailoring Nanoclusters in Ionomeric Polymer Electrolytes
Ralph Colby, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Beth Dickey, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Karl Mueller, Department of Chemistry
James Runt, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Protein Simulations in Confined Environments
Melik C. Demirel, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
Fluorescence-Polarization Correlation Spectroscopy for Single-Molecule Studies
Ahmed A. Heikal, Department of Bioengineering
Nanowire Sculptured Thin Films for Photonic and Sensing Applications
Mark Horn, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
Spin Dependent Transport in Si Nanowires
Qi Li, Department of Physics
Theresa Mayer, Department of Electrical Engineering
Joan Redwing, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Grants and Contracts
Materials research accounted for more than $2.2 million in contracts and grants for the month of September! The largest of these contracts and grants (those greater than $150K) are listed below, along with a link to the complete list of contracts and grants. These data are provided by OSPs Strategic Information Management System.
Colby, Ralph; Real Space Imaging of Phase Separated Blends and Biocompatible Scaffold Materials by Confocal Microscopy and Optical Coherence Tomography, U.S. Department of Commerce
Dong, Cheng; Butler, Peter J; Jones, Daniel R; Snyder, Alan J; NIH-NSF-BBSI: The Penn State Summer Institute (PSSI) for Biomaterials and Bio-nanotechnology, National Science Foundation
Fonash, Stephen; Hallacher, Paul M; Feller, Irwin; Grabowski, Barbara L; Dana, Thomas M; Horn, Mark W; ATE Regional Center for Nanofabrication Manufacturing Education, National Science Foundation
Krauthammer, Theodor; Light-Framed Structures Subjected to Blast Loading, United States Marine Corps
Runt, James; Combinational Gradient and Chemically Patterned Surfaces for Wettability and Adhesive Tests, U.S. Department of Commerce
Materials Seminars
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Time: 3:35 PM
Location: 114 EES Building
Title: Public outreach for engineers
Speaker: Mary Shoemaker, PA Space Grant Consortium
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Time: 1:15 AM
Location: 26 Hosler Building
Title: Based Bioassays in Microfluidic Systems
Speaker: Michael Pishko, Penn State
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Time: 11:30 AM
Location: 108 Wartik Laboratory
Title: Molecular imaging with near-infrared fluorescent agents
Speaker: Dr. Eva Sevick-Muraca Texas A&M University
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Time: 3:35 PM
Location: 114 EES Building
Title: DNA Based Photonics
Speaker: James G. Grote, Wright-Patterson AFB
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Time: 1:15 AM
Location: 26 Hosler Building
Title: Talking Ceramics: Studies of Phase Equilibria, Crystal Chemistry, and Dielectric Properties
Speaker: Terrell Vanderah, Data and Standards Group at NIST
For a complete list of upcoming materials-related seminars go to:
http://www.mri.psu.edu/seminars.asp
Funding Opportunities
Posted October 6
DARPA: Lithography for Advanced Military Systems
AFRL: Novel Optically diVerse Applications program White papers due October 24, 2003 Posted September 29
DOE: Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) Sealing Systems Deadline: November 6, 2003
DOD: Young Investigator Program (YIP)
