BIOTIC-ABIOTIC INTERFACES WITHIN A NANOSTRUCTURED POLYMER MATRIX PLATFORM: TOWARDS A COMPLETELY ABIOTIC SYSTEM Jennifer Sekowski* U.S. Army RDECOM, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center Gunpowder, MD 21010-5424 Omar B. Ayyub and Peter Kofinas College Park, MD 2074 University of Maryland, Fischell Dept of Bioengineering ABSTRACT In developing new responsive materials for the Warfighter, inspiration for function often comes from the biological world. Yet, in order to preserve biological function in the battlefield, the structure must be made more robust than is possible using the original biological materials. Hybrid biotic/abiotic structures are an important step toward the design of totally artificial constructs with the functionalities of biotic systems. Such functional abiotic polymers could serve in many capacities, as autonomous sensor platforms, or as integrated function materials on (e.g. a sticker) or in (e.g. coatings or fabric) in the Warfighter's kit. Hybrid biotic/abiotic structures were fabricated using chemically functionalized polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (PS- b-P2VP) block copolymers. These polymer films induce a visible color change when exposed to aqueous media. The P2VP block of the copolymer was functionalized with either 2-bromomethylphenylboronic acid or bromoethylamine. The 2-bromomethylphenylboronic acid functionalization allowed the films to respond to glucose with a change in color. When exposed to glucose the films changed from green to orange. Ovalbumin antibodies were attached to films functionalized with bromoethylamine. These films responded to the Ovalbumin protein with a color change. 1. INTRODUCTION In developing new responsive materials for the Warfighter, inspiration for function often comes from the biological world. Yet, in order to preserve biological function in the battlefield, the structure must be made more robust than is possible using the original biological materials. Hybrid biotic/abiotic structures are an important step toward the design of totally artificial constructs with the functionalities of biotic systems. Such functional abiotic polymers could serve in many capacities, as autonomous sensor platforms, or as integrated function materials on (e.g. a sticker) or in (e.g. coatings or fabric) in the Warfighter’s kit. The overall goal of this research is to explore the basic rules governing the biotic-abiotic interfaces and other chemistry required to integrate different types of binding or capture reagents within a responsive, nanostructured block copolymer (BCP) matrix. The ease of processing the BCP at ambient temperature already allows the production of responsive shape-conforming thin films that can be processed as coatings or sheets, and distributed over a large area substrate. The principles we establish from this work will ultimately lead to the development of responsive flexible polymers that could form the basis for multiple or multiplexed “litmus test” polymers, configured as small “stickers”, large coating sheets, or even be integrated into the fabric or coatings used in the Warfighter’s uniform and kit. To create a polymeric material that can successfully recognize ricin, anthrax, or any other biological or chemical molecule, it is necessary to combine a selective recognition element with a measurable output signal. The material we have used achieves these needs by using the tunable reflectance of swollen functionalized block copolymers (BCPs). Block copolymers are polymers consisting of two or more chemically distinct sequences of monomer repeat units linked together through a covalent bond. Upon