EAGER: New superdiffusive pastes from self-motile active particles with extreme penetration capabilities enabling breakthrough biomedical technologies

This EAGER project will seek to prove the feasibility of new high-risk, high-reward, interdisciplinary ideas in the field of self-propelling active particles. These new classes of particles can convert their internal chemical energy, or energy from external fields, into motion. The motile particles have highly unusual properties and can form the basis of new biomedical products with very high efficiency and radically improved performance. However, the present types of active particles are complicated or require a special medium for propulsion. This project will explore new types of active particles, which will propel themselves by simple osmotic effects, while a portion of the particles dissolve in the medium. A new system made of such particles called a 'superdiffusive paste' will have extraordinary properties in being able to rapidly permeate any medium with interconnected pores, infusing any crevice, pore, and cavity, as the motile particles move through the pore network. This system could be used to deliver compounds in challenging situations. For example, a superdiffusive paste loaded with disinfectant will be able to penetrate the complex inner channel network of teeth and kill microbes concealed within this network.

This EAGER project will explore new physical principles for particle self-propulsion without an external source of energy or special media and will apply these principles by constructing a new type of suspension in the form of a superdiffusive paste. The introduction of the superdiffusive paste could spark new areas of fundamental research due to the rich variety of mass-transport effects that will emerge in such novel active particle systems. The most exploratory and interdisciplinary element will be the application of the superdiffusive paste in biomedical systems. Specifically, the project will seek to demonstrate that the high permeation capability of the superdiffusive paste can lead to future transformative products for disinfection of open teeth, tissues, and wounds. The development of the novel paste will be done in collaboration with experienced dental investigators. The broader impacts of the project include providing training ground for a new diverse group of engineering students in the emerging areas of active materials. These students will master multidisciplinary topics ranging from chemical engineering, to design of new active materials, to their translation to biomedical use. It will also contribute to the research team's ongoing activity in maximizing undergraduate and graduate researcher diversity and preparing enticing materials for hands-on outreach demonstrations.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.