Biological systems are structurally disordered and rheologically complex, with architectures ranging from the scales of molecules to tissues, yet they self-assemble and function robustly in a coordinated manner. The field of soft matter science provides a framework for understanding the diverse mechanical and transport properties of living systems, both at the intracellular and extracellular scales. This IRG will use this materials-centric perspective to determine new "Rules of Life" and develop new insights for the control of soft materials, which are inherently multi-component, disordered, and often out of equilibrium. The integration of biology and materials science is reflected in the fields of expertise of the investigators and collaborators (experimentalists and theorists) who form an interactive community at Princeton.

The team will focus on macromolecules that form solutions and gels with key rheological properties that serve as fundamental building blocks of soft and living materials. Biological polymers, such as proteins and nucleic acids, have diverse intracellular (e.g., gene regulation) and extracellular (e.g., biofilm matrices) functions, which are connected to structural features like molecular weight, chain architecture, charge distribution, monomer sequence, and cross-linking. This IRG will bridge materials science and biology to address how macromolecular properties determine and control material functions at two scales of biological organization – the intra- and extracellular levels – and to inspire new materials insights.

The research addresses two key questions: 1) How is the formation of multiple condensed phases controlled in macromolecular solutions containing passive and active components? 2) How do macromolecular gels regulate form and function in multicomponent and active systems? These themes span the common fluid and elastic materials that exist throughout biology and constitute many novel soft materials. The IRG’s combined experimental, computational and theoretical approaches to answer these questions will enable insights into understanding the "Rules of Life" by demonstrating how macromolecules regulate gene expression, aggregation of pathological proteins, cellular transport, and formation of multicellular communities. The IRG will provide materials science insights into how macromolecules can be combined with active components and optogenetic control to design new responsive systems with tunable properties. The IRG’s integration of tools and insights will support the foundation for the emerging field of “living materials science."

Co-Leaders
Howard Stone (MAE)
Sujit Datta (CBE)

Senior Investigators
Bonnie Bassler (Mol-Bio)
Clifford Brangwynne (CBE)
Sujit Datta (CBE)
Mikko Haataja (MAE)
Jerelle Joseph (CBE)
Andrej Košmrlj (MAE)
Celeste Nelson (CBE)
Athanassios Panagiotopoulos (CBE)
Rodney Priestley (CBE)
Richard Register (CBE)

Collaborators
Anderson Shum (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
Evgeniy Boyko (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel)
Zheng Shi (Rutgers University)

Molecular biology permits custom programming of cells to carry out specific tasks, such as synthesis of specific biomolecules or modification of molecules in the extracellular environment. Further examples include formation of multicellular structures or sending chemical or optical signals in response to detection of specific molecules. The bacterium Escherichia coli, for which there exists a staggering array of genetic engineering methods and genomic data, is well suited for such tasks. Efforts at bioengineering of E. coli depend on understanding unresolved basic questions of the mechanisms underlying control of gene expression (i.e., modulation of which genes are expressed at any given time, largely through DNA-protein interactions on the chromosome) and metabolic processes (i.e., the biochemical reaction pathways through which the basic molecules of a cell are processed). The overall objective of this project is to biologically engineer bacterial cells, and design them to perform specific tasks and to produce specific materials. Two complementary projects focus on understanding mechanistic aspects of gene expression and metabolic processes in E. coli. Key strengths of the project are the complementary abilities of the collaborating groups in the areas of theoretical study of metabolic and genetic networks of E. coli, study of information in genetic sequences, theoretical and experimental study of protein-DNA interactions at the single-molecule level, experimental study of chromosome structure and function, and theoretical and experimental study of soft materials including supramolecular assemblies of biomolecules.

IRG 1 utilizes artificial intelligence to unravel the complexity of quantum materials and engineered systems. By developing AI-based tools, the group advances the rational design of materials for applications in energy harvesting, low-power electronics, quantum computing, and novel sensing technologies, addressing challenges in quantum phases and behavior.

Seed 6 will examine the molecular packing and efficient triplet harvesting in singlet fission. The work will identify both favorable and unfavorable molecular packing for singlet fission.

Principal Investigators
Greg Scholes (Chemistry)
Lynn Loo (Chemical and Biological Engineering)

* This seed is inactive.

Motivation and Impact

Harnessing the immense polyaminoacid complexity of nature and beyond without billions of years of evolution

Nature Inspired Materials

MOTIVATION:
Life is possible due to proteins: polyaminoacid macromolecules with exquisite folded nanostructure producing specific function that is encoded in the amino acid sequence.

KEY CHALLENGE:
Restricted toolbox of natural or mutated protein structures limits design of non-natural materials.

VISION:
Computational design to realize synthetic peptides that fold and assemble into rigid, protein-like building blocks to produce designed Nanostructure (Aim 1), Motion (Aim 2), and Simple Machines (Aim 3).

^{Saven, C. Kloxin, Pochan, and coworkers, “Polymers with controlled assembly and rigidity made with click-functional peptide bundles,” Nature 574 (2019): 658-662}

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at Brown University supports an interdisciplinary research program on the mechanics of materials at the atomistic and microstructural level. The research is carried out in one interdisciplinary research group, with appropriate seed projects. Within the IRG one major thrust is the study of the effect of stress on the performance of electronic nanostructures and nanodevices. This research has potential impact on understanding how stress effects the design and performance of atomic scale sized lasers and electronic devices. The experimental results are modeled using the quasicontinuum model developed at Brown. The second thrust in the IRG is concerned with the investigation of the micromechanics of materials with complex microstructures. Emphasis is on the interface between two types of systems such as bicrystals of aluminum, aluminum alloy, and synthetic bimaterials. Computational techniques closely support the experimental efforts. The center is engaged in a variety of educational activities, notably the development aterials science teaching modules aimed at the high school level and the training of secondary teachers in use of the modules. The Center supports well maintained shared experimental facilities, which are accessible to outside users and also supports interactive efforts with industry and other sectors.

Glasses are ubiquitous across materials types and technological applications but their structure – property – processing relationships and underlying fundamental physics remain poorly understood. IRG 1 uses cross-fertilization of ideas and techniques from organic and inorganic glasses to address fundamental problems in glass science through the lens of stability. Glasses of the same composition can be created in states of widely varying thermodynamic and kinetic stability.

The IRG seeks to use these materials to develop fundamental stability-structure-property relationships for glasses. Efforts include establishing control over stability in organic and inorganic glasses; understanding the structures associated with varying states of stability; discovering the molecular nature of polyamorphism – the existence of two stable liquid states of the same substance; and determining the relationship between the structure and dynamics of liquids as they cool into the glassy state. The IRG integrates theory, simulations, and experiments to expand the range of ultrastable glassy materials and to enable new applications in areas as diverse as hard coatings and quantum information.

The goal of IRG-2 is to discover and exploit scale-invariant shape-filling amphiphile (SFA) motifs to assemble robust, functional network phases and to understand how processing impacts their properties.

IRG-1 will develop the fundamental science needed to understand, describe, and predict interfacial phenomena in metals and ceramics with multiple principal elements. These so-called complex concentrated materials have been reported to have outstanding properties such as high strength, tailored band gaps, extremely large dielectric constants, and substantially reduced thermal conductivity, making them the next paradigm shift in structural and functional materials.

^{Fig. Interfacial Science of Complex Concentrated Materials}

This IRG’s interdisciplinary team will be the first to develop the core principles of microstructural engineering for complex concentrated materials, including fundamental investigations of atomic-level structure and chemistry, interfacial thermodynamics, kinetics, and mechanical and functional properties. This foundational knowledge will then be used to design and synthesize materials with planned microstructures and properties.

The team provides complementary expertise in materials theory, computational materials science, processing science, advanced characterization, property measurement, and artificial intelligence to enable a complete study of interfacial behavior in complex concentrated materials. This IRG is expected to transform complex concentrated materials from laboratory curiosities into materials that alter our global economy in a variety of essential industries.

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at the University of Minnesota (UMN) unites established senior and promising junior faculty from six departments and two other universities in a multidisciplinary program to address fundamental issues spanning a broad spectrum of materials research. The research mission of the Center is founded upon four Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs):
IRG-1: Engineered Multiblock Polymers implements powerful synthesis and processing strategies for advanced materials based on self-assembly of multiblock copolymers. These new materials may be used for controlled porosity membranes and drug delivery.
IRG-2: Organic Optoelectronic Interfaces is developing a comprehensive understanding of structure-property relationships in a new generation of electronic materials.
IRG-3: Magnetic Heterostructures explores spin transport, spin transfer torque, and novel highly polarized materials in precisely engineered heterostructures. This may lead to new magnetic memory devices and new paradigms in computation.
IRG-4: Nanoparticle-based Materials is creating environmentally benign nanoparticle-based materials for applications in luminescence and photovoltaics.

The UMN MRSEC manages an extensive program in education and career development. Center research activities are integrated with educational programs, providing interdisciplinary training of students and postdocs. The summer research program features four distinct efforts, two of which, Faculty-Student Teams; Native American Fellowships, target Tribal Colleges. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Research Experiences for Teachers programs also attract a significant population of female and underrepresented minority undergraduates to the University.

MRSEC faculty and student participate in numerous K-12 outreach activities that include a program of summer camps for high school students and working with the Science Museum of Minnesota in developing exhibits, providing demonstrations, and staffing booths.

The MRSEC is bolstered by a broad complement of over 35 companies that contribute directly to IRG research through intellectual, technological, and financial support in a collaborative and pre-competitive environment through the Industrial Partnership for Research in Interfacial and Materials Engineering (IPRIME) and the Center for Micromagnetics and Information Technologies (MINT). International research collaborations and student exchanges are pursued with leading research labs in Asia and Europe. The UMN MRSEC benefits from an extensive suite of materials synthesis, characterization and computational facilities.