Structure and dynamics of biomolecular and bioinspired nanomaterials: from electron microscopy to videography

The world of soft nanomaterials is a world in motion. While this sentiment may first bring terms like “squish”, “flow”, and “deform” to mind, the reality is far richer. Soft and biological materials transform and transport, react and replicate, conduct, catalyze, communicate, and live, all through the execution of well-crafted, nanoscopic, molecular dances. Even the jiggling and jostling of molecules at equilibrium tells a story, about the fundamental physics holding their world together. The work described in this thesis has been motivated by the desire to improve fundamental understanding of the structure and dynamics of soft nanomaterials by seeing them, in particular, by developing new experimental methods and supporting quantitative, analytical tools that make it possible to interrogate and quantify these two attributes with direct, high-resolution imaging. The core of the approach has been electron microscopy (EM), providing the essential ingredient of nanometer spatial resolution, but the endeavor as a whole has taken EM to new and little-explored territories when it comes to soft materials characterization. In going from EM in two dimensions to three, it is revealed how rationally designed polymers can dismantle protein aggregates that contribute to disease, and how filtration membranes that have been in use for nearly sixty years develop their intricate structures and function. In going from conventional, snapshot-based imaging to real-time “videography” in a liquid environment, it is shown how lipids and proteins interact in biological membranes and how polymer networks adapt and transform in response to environmental changes, to manage water or deliver therapeutics. The toolbox assembled along the way is highly generalizable, and thus hopefully provides a stepping stone on the path to fundamental understanding of soft condensed matter in areas well beyond the systems described here. As the saying goes, “seeing is believing”, and there remains much to be uncovered in the molecular world as microscopy pushes ever further into this domain.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Materials Science & Engr

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Smith, John W.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chen, Qian
• Schroeder, Charles
• Tajkhorshid, Emad
• Wang, Hua

• Electron Microscopy
• Bioimaging
• Materials Science
• Nanomaterials
• Biophysics
• Molecular Physics

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 John Smith

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120554

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F120554