Symposium

Designing Matter and Responsive Metallobiomaterials
Cassandra L. Fraser
University of Virginia
http://faculty.virginia.edu/fraserlab/research.htm
http://www.designingmatter.net/

Summary
Designing matter is the focus of my efforts as a scientist and an educator. As chemists, we design and synthesize new metallobiomaterials inspired by nature’s metalloproteins, and explore their fundamental properties and potential applications with collaborators in chemistry, materials and biomedical fields. Our research is concerned with polymeric metal complexes, combining inorganic chemistry with state-of-the-art controlled polymerization and many green chemistry themes. Metals introduce reactivity and responsive properties such as color, luminescence, or magnetism into materials, whereas polymers lend processability as films, nanoparticles and other formulations, and like polypeptide chains in metalloproteins, can alter the properties of metals in unexpected ways. Different linear and star-shaped architectures are attainable by modular synthetic methods that functionalize metal complexes with one or many polymer chains. These chains may be alike (homopolymers) or different in composition (block copolymers). Block copolymers can self assemble, adopting patterned materials with nanoscale features. The presence of metals at specific positions in macromolecular architectures locates their responsive properties and dynamic qualities at discrete sites in hierarchically structured assemblies as well. Of particular interest to us are materials comprised of iron and other metals bound to cancer preventative and therapeutic diketones, and biodegradable and biocompatible materials that are safe for the body and the environment. The diketone dibenzoylmethane is a minor constituent in licorice and its derivatives are also common UV absorbers in sunscreens, whereas curcumin is the yellow pigment in turmeric, a traditional medicine and spice found in curries. Designing Matter is also the name of an interdisciplinary Common Course that I led at the University of Virginia. This program considered scientific, societal, and artistic perspectives on the design process and matter lifecycle from subatomic to cosmic scales. It featured discussion, matter-related grant proposals, and a website designed collaboratively with artists. Both scientific and educational projects will be presented.

Biography

Cassandra L. Fraser, Professor of Chemistry and 2004-6 Cavaliers’ Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Virginia, focuses on bio-inspired design, materials for biomedicine, and green chemistry themes in her collaborative scientific research involving the synthesis, responsive properties and nanoscale assembly of polymeric metal complexes. She has also led numerous interdisciplinary initiatives at UVA: Science, Careers & Society Forum; Color: Across the Spectrum; Biomaterials Workshop; Designing Matter Common Course (www.designingmatter.net); and revamped Honors Organic Chemistry II. She serves on the NIH Gene and Drug Delivery Study Section and has received a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship at Harvard University for Fall 2006.