Keith Brown

Biomineralization of Droplets

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Biomineralization is the process by which organisms construct minerals, which includes the bones of vertebrates, the shells of mollusks, and the magnetic crystals that help some bacteria navigate. While biomineralization is a complex and dynamic process performed by living cells, a few enzymes have been implicated as playing crucial roles in the process. For example, it has been observed that the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP) can induce the growth of minerals without cells provided salt and nucleation sites are present. The details of how enzymes such as ALP dictate the biomineralization process, however, is largely unknown. This proposed project is based on the hypothesis that by confining ALP in different concentrations in controlled volumes commensurate with the volume of cells, it will be possible to learn about the role this enzyme plays in biomineralization and leverage! this process to construct novel nanoarchitectures.

LEARNING GOALS
• Learn core nanoscience techniques including photolithography, surface functionalization, and atomic force microscopy.
• Learn about biomineralization and how this process is understood to occur ex vivo.
• Make and test hypotheses about how salt, enzyme concentration, and nucleation site density effect mineralization in controlled volumes.

Learn more about Professor Brown’s work on his lab website.