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CHBE 565 Seminar, Prof. Reid Van Lehn, University of Wisconsin-Madison, "Molecular and Data-Centric Modeling of the Nano-Bio Interface" (host: Prof. Charles Sing)

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and International Paper Company
Date
Mar 30, 2021   2:00 pm  
Contact
Christy Bowser
E-Mail
cbowser@illinois.edu
Phone
217-244-9214
Views
37
Originating Calendar
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering - Seminars and Events

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) coated with small-molecule ligands are versatile materials for biological applications, such as drug delivery and biosensing, because their physicochemical properties and corresponding interactions with biological materials can be tailored by selecting ligands from a large available design space. Unfortunately, a central challenge inhibiting GNP design is that subtle differences in GNP composition (i.e., ligand selection and core size) can trigger large changes in macroscopic behavior that are difficult to predict a priori. In this talk, I will discuss my group’s efforts to combine molecular simulations and data-centric techniques to characterize and predict interactions at the nano-bio interface. In the first part of my talk, I will discuss how systematic variations to the properties of ligands protecting small (<10 nm in diameter) GNPs impact interactions with model cell membranes. Using atomistic and coarse-grained simulations, we show that the free energy of membrane adsorption depends on the hydrophobicity of charged ligand end groups in agreement with experimental measurements. Building upon this work, we have parameterized quantitative structure-activity relationship models to predict cell uptake based on high-throughput simulations. In the second part of my talk, I will discuss our efforts to predict hydrophobicity as the key surface property relevant to both bilayer interactions and interactions with biomacromolecules. We have developed machine-learning models to predict the hydration free energies at ligand-functionalized interfaces with spatially varying chemical properties. This work highlights our approach to derive chemically specific design guidelines for GNPs with tailored nano-bio interactions.

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