| NSF Org: |
DMR Division Of Materials Research |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | January 9, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 10, 2013 |
| Award Number: | 1313553 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Joseph A. Akkara
DMR Division Of Materials Research MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2012 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $308,614.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $312,614.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2013 = $4,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
201 OLD MAIN UNIVERSITY PARK PA US 16802-1503 (814)865-1372 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
University Park PA US 16802-7000 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | BIOMATERIALS PROGRAM |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
This Career award by the Biomaterials Program in the Division of Materials Research to the University of Texas Arlington is to design, synthesize, characterize and identify fluorescent mechanism in biodegradable photoluminescent polymers (BPLPs). Fluorescent labeling and imaging are in increasing demand for analyzing biomolecules, tracking biological processes, and visualizing diseases and therapeutic efficacy. Biodegradable polymers have been widely used in vivo biomedical implants, tissue engineering scaffolds, and orthopedic devices. However, none of the current biodegradable polymers can function as both implant materials and in vivo bioimaging probes without using exogenous imaging agents such as photobleaching organic dyes or toxic quantum dots. This project will establish a methodology to custom-design many types of BPLPs to meet the versatile needs for functional biodegradable polymers. Successful completion of this proposal is expected to significantly advance the biomaterials science and bring paradigm shifts in the use of biodegradable implant biomaterials in a broad range of biological and biomedical fields including biosensing, bioimaging, drug delivery, tissue engineering, and nanomedicine. The proposed education activities focus on establishing a team consisting of the PI, graduate students and high school teachers for high school curriculum enhancement. The PI and graduate students will train high school teachers in the PI's laboratory and they together will help to identify valuable educational tools that would enhance the existing high school curriculum. This teacher training program is expected to give high school teachers hands-on experience and provides latest scientific knowledge in biomaterials and tissue engineering.
Biomaterials are critical components of biomedical devices and products. A novel biomaterial may create new fields of studies and opportunities to tackle unmet biomedical needs. Biodegradable polymers have been intensively used in many biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery and orthopedic devices. The PI has recently developed a unique biodegradable polymer that can emit bright fluorescence by itself without adding toxic imaging agents in detecting early cancers, tracking cancer drug delivery process and monitoring medical implant performance. This proposal will explore the fundamental sciences of this fluorescent polymer, and then establish a methodology to custom-design many different types of fluorescent biodegradable polymers. In the educational area, high school students and teachers will be trained in the PI's laboratory with cutting-edge technologies and sciences in biomaterials and tissue engineering. This research effort by teachers and students is expected to identify valuable topics that could be used later to enhance the existing high school curriculum. This collaborative effort with the largest high school in Texas, Martin High School, Arlington, is expected to generate a wide scientific impact on the high school education.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Biomaterials are critical components of biomedical devices and products. A novel biomaterial may create new fields of studies and opportunities to tackle unmet clinical problems. Making biodegradable polymers fluorescent has huge benefits. This Career award by the Biomaterials Program in the Division of Materials Research to the Pennsylvania State University was to make paradigm changes in designing biodegradable photoluminescent polymers promising for a broad range of biological and biomedical applications and to implement a unique education model for high school curriculum enhancement. Fluorescent labeling and imaging have fueled the significant growth of life science and medical research due to the increasing demands on analyzing biomolecules, tracking biological process, and visualizing diseases and therapeutic efficacy. Biodegradable polymers have been widely used as in vivo safe biomedical implant materials such as drug delivery nanoparticles, tissue engineering scaffolds, and orthopedic devices. However, none of the current biodegradable polymers can function as both implant materials and in vivo bioimaging probes without using exogenous imaging agents such as photobleaching organic dyes or toxic quantum dots. The goal of this proposal was to discover the intriguing fluorescence mechanism of the unique biodegradable photoluminescent polymers (BPLPs) and establish a methodology to custom-design many classes of BPLPs to meet the versatile needs for functional biodegradable polymers in biological and biomedical applications. At the completion of this grant, we have published 25 journal articles, mostly in high impact journals such as Biomaterials, Advanced Materials, Chemical Science, ACS Nano among others. The materials developed under the support of this grant showed great potential for the use in tissue engineering, drug delivery, cancer imaging and biosensing. The material technologies have been licensed to two companies for product development. The education activities focused on establishing a novel academic representative (the PI and graduate students) - high school teacher Representative (biology or chemistry teacher) model for high school curriculum enhancement. The academic representative trained high school representative in the university lab and helped to identify valued education units to enhance the existing high school curriculum. The teacher training program could give high school teachers hands-on experience and up-to-date science progress in biomaterials and tissue engineering that could be relayed to a large number of high school students. The grant also partially supported more than 20 undergraduate students who got exposed in a research extensive environment for research training. Many of them advanced to medical schools or industries. Two PhD students and one MS students were also partially supported by this grant.
Last Modified: 10/30/2016
Modified by: Jian Yang
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