CHEE Seminar: Minkyu Kim
Monday, December 5, 2022 – 3:00 p.m.
Minkyu Kim
Assistant Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of Arizona
"Design of Artificial Protein Polymers for Healthcare Materials"
Harvill Bldg., Room 305
No Social Hour following seminar this week!
ABSTRACT
Natural materials can serve as great inspirational sources to develop next-generation polymeric materials for healthcare applications, attributed to their exceptional physical, chemical and biological properties including biocompatibility, biodegradability and potential nontoxicity. Typically, the unique properties of natural materials are related to their biopolymer components, particularly multi-functional proteins and peptides, and the structural organization of biopolymers in materials. To mimic the superior properties of natural materials, well-characterized functional protein and peptide building blocks can be engineered into artificial protein polymers, which can then be hierarchically assembled into nanostructured polymeric materials, in contrast to fundamentally constructing the entire complex natural system. Based on this bio-inspired approach, Dr. Kim's research group is focusing on the development of (i) erythrocyte-mimicking microparticles with constitutive polymer networks that contain proteins with exceptional mechanical properties for effective and long-term drug delivery, (ii) protein polymers as a material platform to promote the use of numerous antimicrobial peptides as next-generation antimicrobial therapeutics to treat various (emerging) infectious diseases, and (iii) self-assembled protein coating on metallic biomaterials to mimic human skin-fingernail interface for an enhanced skin-implant interface. In this presentation, Dr. Kim will discuss his current progress in developing erythrocyte-mimicking microparticles and antimicrobial peptide-incorporated self-assembled materials, which he expects to advance a wide variety of healthcare applications, including but not limited to tissue engineering, drug delivery, and combating the antibiotic resistance crisis.
BIOSKETCH
Minkyu Kim is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona in materials science and engineering, biomedical engineering and the BIO5 Institute. He earned his Ph.D. (2011) in mechanical engineering and materials science from Duke University and was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT from 2012 to 2016. Dr. Kim has diverse research experiences in the areas of biopolymer nanomechanics, polymer physics and self-assembly, biomolecular engineering and soft materials. His research interests focus on design, synthesis, and multiscale characterization of biopolymer-based functional materials for human health, defense and environmental applications. Dr. Kim is the recipient of 2022 NSF CAREER award. His research projects have been supported by NASA, CDMRP, NSF, the US government and NIEHS.