National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Innovation Research 2002 Program Solicitations
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B5.01 Biomolecular Sensors and Effectors
B5.02 Biomolecular Imaging
B5.03 Biosignatures
B5.04 Biomocular Signal Amplification
B5.05 Nanoscale Self Assembly using Biological Molecules
B5.06 Nano/Quantum Devices for Space Medicine and Biology Applications
B5.07 Bioinformatics
NASA recognizes that biomolecular approaches promise to enable lightweight, convenient, and highly focussed therapies. Three key technologies form the cornerstones of NASA's Biomolecular Systems Program: nanotechnology, information technology, and biotechnology. Investment in these fast-moving fields will provide leading edge advances in health care that will benefit humans on Earth and in space. The program conducts basic research and develops breakthrough technologies to deliver prototype biomolecular micro- and nano- systems for the detection, imaging, recognition and monitoring of biological signatures and processes at the molecular level. This research and development supports NASA's medical, diagnostic, clinical, life support and environmental monitoring, and space exploration/Astrobiology objectives for long-duration space flight, including commercial applications on Earth.
B5.01 Biomolecular Sensors and Effectors
Lead Center: ARC
Participating Center(s): JPL
Emerging technology for micrometer and nanometer scale fabrication, manipulation, and materials characterization enables a new range of technological possibilities. Of particular interest are techniques for miniaturizing biochemical analysis instruments that can interact with life and its constituents at the molecular scale. One of the NASA goals is to seek out and identify biochemicals in minute concentrations in the human body and in extraterrestrial settings. Initially, these microscopic-devices, engineered on the molecular scale, will function primarily to gather data about their environment, with the ultimate goal of actively responding to threats to astronaut health (e.g., by killing tumor cells or by targeted delivery of medication).
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology has enabled numerous innovative methods to miniaturize biomedical instruments. Microfluidic platforms are essential to the goals of detecting molecular signatures of real-time biological activities in the human body. Finally, investigations of nanoscale materials, such as carbon nanotubes, and fabrication techniques are needed to develop biochemical devices with new capabilities with implications beyond miniaturization.
Research Topics:
B5.02 Biomolecular Imaging
Lead Center: JPL
Participating Center(s): ARC
Cellular structures and functions are a marvel in architecture, engineering, and programming. Currently there are various imaging techniques which allow us to obtain concentration variations, map compositions and monitor transport and transduction mechanisms. Cellular biologists now use molecular imaging to localize and image which biological molecules are where inside a cell and its structures. In addition to where, we can also image when molecules are produced to track temporal changes in cell metabolism. Current technologies for molecular imaging in cellular biology would include the following: FISH, GFP, MRI and spectral techniques that allow spectrally multiplexed probes. Atomic, chemical force microscopies, carbon nanotube and proximal probes are all examples of new approaches to resolving molecular structure at a small enough scale to image individual atoms. Photon based imaging from infrared to x-ray, PET, MRI, NSOM, STM/AFM, photo-acoustic imaging, IR spectral imaging are just some examples of imaging techniques. Proposals sought include:
B5.03 Biosignatures
Lead Center: ARC
Fundamental to the success of achieving NASA goals is the ability to identify biosignatures to distinguish life from non-life on a planetary scale. Life is a thermodynamic enigma - seemingly violating thermodynamic laws by decreasing entropy. This ability comes from its ability to extract energy from the environment and use this energy to build structures and establish chemistries that are decidedly out of equilibrium. The combination of structural and chemical disequilibria, along with the resulting changes in the environment due to consumption and production of materials, make the technologies basis for the search for life rather straightforward: utilize thermodynamics and kinetics. Search over a variety of scales for structures, measure the chemistry of these structures, and search for metabolites that are disappearing or accumulating on a variety of time scales. Using such an approach, we imagine that life can be sought in a wide variety of environments simply by making simple measurements and asking the right questions of the data. NASA requires technology for in situ life detection that will provide a springboard for the use of similar approaches for detection of "unhealthy" subjects, be they unhealthy due to bacterial or viral infections, or malignancies. From this perspective, one can readily identify specific methods and approaches that will be used in astrobiology (things to be measured, statistical approaches, data handling and analyses, etc.), and how they might be adapted to laboratory, environmental, and in situ studies of life detection, and eventually to laboratory and clinical methods of diagnosis. Technology innovation areas include:
B5.04 Biomolecular Signal Amplification
Lead Center: JPL
Participating Center(s): ARC
The ability to detect weak signals emitted from molecular interactions has always been a challenge for molecular biologists. Such signals highlight numerous important interactions such as antigen-antibody associations and nucleic acid hybridization reactions. These interactions are often used as assays to detect molecular indicators of disease pathology. As such, increasing sensitivity of these assays without compromising accuracy is of utmost importance. Traditionally, signal amplification in molecular biology has been achieved by one of two approaches- either amplification of the molecule to be detected or intensifying the signal from the detector molecule. Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is an example of the former. In RT-PCR, one makes a DNA copy of a low copy number transcript to be detected, then amplifies the number of molecules by PCR before detecting the products. To illustrate increasing the signal from a detection molecule, consider the use of labeled secondary antibodies to enhance signal from primary antibody binding. While these techniques have improved detection, methods are still limiting when it comes to detecting molecules in very small quantity or in single copy. More recent examples include catalyzed reporter deposition (CARD), branched DNA signal amplification assays and Fluorescent Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). Technology innovation areas include:
Biomolecular self-assembly is an exciting new discipline lying at the intersection of molecular biology, the physical sciences, and materials engineering. A key feature of biological systems is their ability to undergo self-assembly, a process in which a complex hierarchical structure is established without external intervention. Bridging the gap between organic chemistry and materials synthesis, biomolecular self-assembly combines the powerful specificity of protein and DNA interactions with the more traditional synthetic material synthesis to produce novel materials and sensors. The resulting materials are structured in a way that is characteristic of biological materials, but they are not necessarily of biological origin.
Use of colloids is one route to nanoscale self-assembly. Colloidal particles can serve as substrates for molecularly thin films of biopolymers or other surface-active agents. Extensive use has been made of gold, silica and latex particles as substrates to which antibodies and antigens could be attached for assaying and in drug delivery applications. Lock-and-key protein systems such as the biotin-avidin couple may be used as controllable strong adhesives. Colloidal dispersions have also been used as a solvent for self-assembling lamellar phases of surfactants.
The focus of this subtopic is the applications of biomolecular self-assembly to produce novel sensors or bio-engineered materials that enable technologies relevant to the nation's space program.
Nanostructure science and technology is a broad and interdisciplinary area of research and development activity that has been growing explosively in the past few years. It has the potential for revolutionizing the ways in which materials and devices are created and the range and nature of functionalities that can be accessed. Nanodevices or devices based on quantum effects have the potential for higher performance at lower volume, weight, and power consumption. Technology innovation areas include:
B5.07 Bioinformatics
Lead Center: JPL
Participating Center(s): ARC
The systematic handling and analysis of biological data to solve scientific problems will involve the development of new computational technologies. Bioinformatics will be important in assessing and modeling physiological conditions. Both pattern recognition and modeling of biological behavior and processes (both at global and local levels) will be crucial to scientific and medical research in space and on Earth. NASA's bioinformatics technology development is divided along the following lines: (1) data acquisition, (2) data handling and curation, (3) hypothesis generation, and (4) hypothesis testing.
Technology innovation development areas to enhance and enable:
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