Bio-Carbon Nanomaterials

Carbon nanoparticles are available in several geometries, including spherical fullerenes, cylindrical nanotubes and planar nanoplatelets. While these nanoparticles all share the same graphenic structure that imparts semiconductor properties, the diverse geometries afford a spectrum of unique chemical, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties. Composite materials containing carbon nanoparticles electrically coupled to biomolecules could yield an array of high-performance technologies. Inclusion of a biological recognition element, and any necessary cofactor or mediator, allows the composite electrode to serve as an integrated, bioactive electrode unit (i.e., bio-carbon network). This work includes (1) development of simple and rapid methods to modify and process carbon nanoparticles for self and directed assembly, (2) incorporation of the nanoparticles into bio-carbon networks, and (3) characterization of the network’s fundamental properties.

Engineering Surfaces and Interfaces

Self-assembly, microcontact printing, and layer-by-layer assembly techniques for surface tuning and patterning are utilized to develop new opto-electronic and bio applications. A variety of materials, such as organic and inorganic molecules, polymers, particles, and biomolecules including cells are used to prepare topologically and functionally structured surfaces for their desired purposes using novel self and directed assembly techniques.

Nanomixing or Nanodispersion of Nanomaterials

We have established a strategic partnership with the Primix Corporation to study the nanomixing, nanodispersion, and nanoparticulate processes. Due to the enhanced high shear forces, the dispersed nanomaterials have superior stability in solvents. We are currently studying why it helps the stability of the nanodispersion. The mixer, named T.K. Filmics, uses a multiphase swirling flow to achieve extremely high energy dissipation and achieve the dispersion. The mixer has a stationary outer cylinder, within which an inner cylinder rotates very rapidly. The two phases are introduced separately from the bottom and the particulates are dispersed by shear in the annular region between the two cylinders. The high shear force, thin film mixing system has been newly developed from the conventional mixers by the Primix Corporation located in Japan (http://www.primix.jp/en/index.html).

Novel Fabrication of Nanostructured Particles with an Arbitrary Shape

Convenient methods for the fabrication of complex nanostructures are emerging in the growing field of nanotechnology for novel optical, electrical, magnetic, and also biological functions. Recently we have developed a simple and effective method to produce various kinds of nanostructured particles like nanorice and nanospears (i.e., tapered nanorods) using alumina membrane as templates. The nanocylindrical pores of anodized alumina membranes are filled with spherical polymer nanoparticles by a solvent assisted nano-injection. Then the membranes are heated in an oven above the glass transition temperature of the polymer. Due to the non-uniform heating, non-equilibrium capillary forces, and the wetting property of the polymer nanospheres confined in the nanocylinders, the spherical nanoparticles coalesce to form both aspect ratio and end-shape controlled nanorods which are shaped in the forms of nanorice, nanospears or tapered nanorods. Other novel nanostructures include nanorods, nanograss, nanodisks, and broken nanodonuts using vaious nanomaterials such as polymers, metals, inorganic particles, and biomolecules.

Self-assembled, Nanostructured Biomimetic Interfaces

Living cells efficiently perform many vital sensing, signaling, catalytic, and bioelectronic processes at the molecular scale. These processes typically occur at cell membranes, whose principal components include a bilayer lipid membrane (BLM) and membrane proteins. The BLM's nanoscale thickness (5 nm) and high electrical resistance give it unique optical and bioelectronic properties. A diverse array of membrane proteins embedded in the BLM imparts the highly specific activities exhibited by cell membranes. These activities can, in principle, be mimicked in the laboratory by reconstituting appropriate membrane proteins into artificial BLM. We are using self and directed assembly tools to fabricate functional and nanostructured biomimetic-interfaces that use lipid bilayers, membrane proteins (such as neuropathy target esterase), and other nanostructured components (e.g. polyelectrolyte multilayers) to reproduce cell-membrane processes. These systems have outstanding potential for conducting fundamental studies of nanoscale biological processes and for developing new technologies, including high-throughput drug screening systems, research tools to study membrane proteins, and high-performance biosensors.

Wrinkle-free Nanomechanical Films

Wrinkling or buckling is a common natural phenomenon which occurs in numerous forms on many different length scales. Common forms of buckling include the wrinkling of human skin, the surface of many dried fruits, and even the formation of mountain ranges. Generally buckling occurs when a stiff upper material on a more compliant substrate is compressed. Compressive forces can be generated physically (e.g., stretching or compressing a compliant substrate) or simply by raising or lowering the temperature of the materials. Wrinkling and related phenomena in various materials have been studied from the standpoint of micro and bio mechanics. How and why wrinkles form has been well studied; however, preventing the occurrence of such a phenomenon remains a challenge. The goal of this proposed work is to study how nanoparticles influence the mechanical (or thermal) wrinkling (or buckling) of thin films, and to develop such wrinkle free films for various applications.

Reviewed Journal Publications

Mehrotra, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Multilayer Mediated Forward Patterned siRNA Transfection using Linear-PEI at Extended N/P Ratios," Acta Biomaterialia, 5, 1474-1488, (2009).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Patterned Co-culture of Neurons and Astrocytes on Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films for Studying Astrocyte Mediated Oxidative Stress in Neurons," Advanced Functional Materials 18(2), 294 - 301, (2008).

Kidambi, S.; Chan, C.; Lee, I. "Tunable Resistive m-dPEG Acid Patterns on Polyelectrolyte Multilayers at Physiological Condition for Directed Deposition of Multiple Biomacromolecules," Langmuir 24(1), 224 -230, (2008).

Hassler, B. L.; Amundsen, T. J.; Zeikus, J.G.; Lee, I.; Worden, R.M. "Versatile Bioelectronic Interfaces on Flexible Non-conductive Substrates," Biosensors and Bioelectronics 23, 1481-1487, (2008).

Hendricks, T.R.; Lu, J.; Drzal, L.T.; Lee, I. "Intact Pattern Transfer of Conductive Exfoliated Graphite Nanoplatelet Nanocomposite Films to Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Platforms," Advanced Materials, 20, 2008-2012, (2008).

Lu, J.; Do, I.; Drzal, L. T.; Worden, R. M.; Lee, I. "Nanometal-Decorated Exfoliated Graphite Nanoplatelet Based Glucose Biosensors with High Sensitivity and Fast Response," ACS Nano 2, 1825-1832, (2008).

Kidambi, S.; Sheng, L.; Lee, I; and Chan, C., "Selective Adhesion of Primary Cells in Protein-Free Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films- Templates for Patterned Cell Co-cultures", Macromolecular Bioscience, 7(3), 344 - 353, (2007).

Kidambi, S.; Udpa, N.; Schroeder, S.A.; Findlan, R.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Cell Adhesion on Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coated Polydimethylsiloxane Surfaces with Varying Topographies," Tissue Engineering 13, 2105-2117, (2007).

Hendricks, T. R.; Lee, I. "Wrinkle-Free Nanomechanical Film: Control and Prevention of Polymer Film Buckling," Nano Letters 7(2), 372 -379, (2007).

Srivastava, D.; Hendricks, T. R.; Lee, I. "Step-edge Like Template Fabrication of Polyelectrolyte Supported Nickel Nanowires," Nanotechnology 18, 245305-245310, (2007).

Lu, J.; Drzal, L.T.; Worden, R.M.; Lee, I. "Simple Fabrication of a Highly Sensitive Glucose Biosensor Using Enzymes Immobilized in Exfoliated Graphite Nanoplatelets Nafion Membrane," Chemistry of Materials 19, 6240-6246 (2007).

Kohli, N.; Worden, R.M.; Lee, I. "Direct Transfer of Preformed Patterned Bio-Nanocomposite Films on Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Templates," Macromolecular Bioscience 7, 798-797, (2007).

Ahn, J. S.; Hendricks, T. R.; Lee, I. "Control of Specular and Diffuse Reflection of Light Using Particle Self-Assembly at the Polymer and Metal Interface," Advanced Functional Materials 17, 3619 - 3625, (2007).

Hassler, B.; Kohli, N.; Zeikus, J.; Lee, I.; Worden, R.M. "Renewable Dehydrogenase Based Interfaces for Bioelectronic Applications," Langmuir 23, 7127 -7133 (2007).

Kohli, N.; Sivastava, D.; Sun, J.; Richardson, R.J.; Lee, I.; Worden, R.M. "Nanostructured Biosensor for Measuring Neuropathy Target Esterase Activity," Analytical Chemistry 79, 5196-5203, (2007).

Hendricks, T. R.; Dams, E. E.; Wensing, S. T.; Lee, I. "Effects of Catalyst Introduction Methods Using PAMAM Dendrimers on Selective Electroless Nickel Deposition on Polyelectrolyte Multilayers," Langmuir 23, 7404 -7410, (2007).

Hendricks, T. R.; Lee, I. "A Versatile Approach to Selective and Inexpensive Copper Patterns Using Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coatings," Thin Solid Films 515, 2347-2352, (2006).

Kohli, N.; Vaidya, S.; Ofoli, R.Y.; Worden, R.M.; Lee, I. "Arrays of Lipid Bilayers on Patterned Polyelectrolyte Templates," Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 301, 461-469, (2006).

Kohli, N.; Hassler, B.L.; Parthasarathy, L.; Richardson, R.J.; Ofoli, R.Y.; Worden, R.M.; Lee, I. "Tethered Lipid Bilayers on Electrolessly Deposited Gold for Bioelectronic Applications," Biomacromolecules 7, 3327-3335, (2006).

Srivastava, D.; Lee, I. "Nanorice and Nanospears from Polymer Nanospheres," Advanced Materials 18, 2471-2475, (2006).

Kohli, N.; Worden, R. M.; Lee, I. "Intact Transfer of Layered, Bionanocomposite Arrays by Microcontact Printing," Chemical Communications 3, 316-318, (2005).

Ahn, J. S.; Hammond, P. T.; Rubner, M. F.; Lee, I. "Self-Assembled Particle Monolayers on Polyelectrolyte Multilayers: Particle Size Effects on Formation, Structure, and Optical Properties," Colloids and Surfaces A 259, 45-53, (2005).

Kidambi, S.; Chan, C.; Lee, I. "Selective Depositions on Polyelectrolyte Multilayers: Self-Assembled Monolayers of m-dPEG Acid as Molecular Templates," Journal of the American Chemical Society 126, 4697-4703 (2004).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Controlling Primary Hepatocyte Adhesion and Spreading on Protein Free Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films," Journal of the American Chemical Society 126 (50), 16286 -16287 (2004).

Lee, I.; Ahn, J. S.; Hendricks, T. R.; Rubner, M. F.; Hammond, P. T. "Patterned and Controlled Polyelectrolyte Fractal Growth and Aggregations," Langmuir 20, 2478-2483 (2004).

Kohli, N.; Dvornic, P. R.; Kaganove, S. N.; Worden, R. M.; Lee, I. "Nanostructured Cross-linkable Micropatterns via Amphiphilic Dendrimer Stamping," Macromolecular Rapid Communications 25(9), 935-941 (2004).

Lee, I.; Hammond, P. T.; Rubner, M. F. "Selective Electroless Nickel Plating of Particle Arrays on Polyelectrolyte Multilayers," Chemistry of Materials 15, 4583-4589, (2003).

Zheng, H.; Lee, I.; Rubner, M. F.; Hammond, P. T. "Two Colloidal Particles Adsorption on Patterned Polyelectrolyte Templates," Advanced Materials 14, 569-572, (2002).

Lee, I.; Zheng, H.; Rubner, M. F.; Hammond, P. T. "Controlled Cluster Size in Patterned Particle Arrays via Directed Adsorption on Confined Surfaces," Advanced Materials 14(8), 572-577, (2002).

Lee, I.; Wool, R. P. "Thermodynamic Analysis of Polymer Adhesion: Sticker Group and Receptor Group Effects, "The Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Physics 40, 2343-2353, (2002).

Lee, I.; Wool, R. P. "Optimum Polymer-Solid Interface Design for Adhesion Strength: Carboxylation of Polybutadiene and Mixed Silanes Surface Modification of Aluminum Oxide," Journal of Adhesion 75, 299-323, (2001).

Lee, I.; Wool, R. P. "Controlling Amine Receptor Group Density on Aluminum Oxide Surfaces by Mixed Silane SelfAssembly," Thin Solid Films 379, 94-100, (2000).

Lee, I.; Wool, R. P. "Polymer Adhesion vs. Substrate Receptor Group Density," Macromolecules 33(7), 2680-2687, (2000).

Conference Proceedings

Srivastava, D.; Lee, I. "Novel Fabrication of Anisotropic Polymer Nanoparticles Using Solvent-Aided Nanoinjection Molding Process," Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering 96, 869-870, (2007).

Hendricks, T. R.; Lee, I. "Control and Prevention of Polymer Film Buckling by Incorporating Surface Topographies and Nanoparticles," Polymer Preprints 48(1), 668-669, (2007).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Aptamer incorporated polyelectrolyte multilayer films targeting influenza virus's hemagglutinin binding region," Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering 97, 246-247, (2007).

Hendricks, T. R.; Lu, J.; Drzal, L. T.; Lee, I. "Versatile Conductive Patterning Using Exfoliated Graphite Nanoplatelets, Copper, and Polyelectrolytes," Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering 96, 293-294, (2007).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Salt Tunable m-dPEG Acid Patterns on Polyelectrolyte Multilayers - Templates for Directed Deposition of Macromolecules," Polymer Preprints 47(1), 41-42, (2006).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I. Chan, C., "Polyelectrolyte Multilayer as Bioactive Surface for Cell Adhesion," Polymer Preprints 46(2), 1271-1272, (2005)

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. Selective Primary Hepatocyte Adhesion on Polyelectrolyte Multilayer: Template for Patterned Cell Co-Culture. In AIChE Nanotechnology Proceedings (2004).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Engineering Polyelectrolyte Multilayer (PEM) Surfaces to Create Cell Resistant and Adhesive Surfaces" Polymer Preprints 45(1), 88-89, (2004).

Kohli, N.; Vaidya, S.; Ofoli, R.Y.; Worden, R.M.; Lee, I. "3-D Bionanocomposite Surfaces and Interfaces: Fabrication and Characterization," Polymer Preprints 45(1), 124-125, (2004).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. Selective Primary Hepatocyte Adhesion on Polyelectrolyte Multilayer: Template for Patterned Cell Co-Culture. In AIChE Nanotechnology Proceedings (2004).

Kidambi, S.; Lee, I.; Chan, C. "Engineering Polyelectrolyte Multilayer (PEM) Surfaces to Create Cell Resistant and Adhesive Surfaces" Polymer Preprints 45(1), 88-89, (2004).

Kohli, N.; Kim, P.; Mason, A.; Lee, I.; Ofoli, R.Y.; Worden, R. M. "Nanoscale Sensing for Biological and Environmental Applications," Proceedings of the Sensors Topical Conference, Annual Meeting of the AIChE, San Francisco, CA, Nov. 16-21, 2003, AIChE:New York, (2003).

Kohli, N.; Hassler, B.; Vaidya, S.; Parthasarathy, L.; Ofoli, R.Y.; Lee I.; Worden, R.M. "Biomimetic Interfaces for Integrated Biosensor Arrays," Proceedings of Sensors Topical proceedings of 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers."

Lee, I.; Zheng, H. Rubner, M. F.; Hammond, P. T. "2D Functional Colloidal Arrays on Surfaces for Photonic Wave Guide Using Polyelectrolyte Multilayers as Templates," Polymer Preprints 43(1), pp36-37 (2002).

Zheng, H.; Lee, I.; Rubner, M. F.; Hammond, P. T. "Selective Deposition of Two-dimensional Colloidal Arrays on Patterned Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Templates," Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings 697(Surface Engineering 2001), pp439-443 (2002).

Zheng, H.; Lee, I.; Rubner, M. F.; Hammond, P. T. "Two Dimensional Patterning of Colloidal Arrays on Polymer Templates for Photonic Applications," Polymer Preprints 43(1), pp17-18 (2002).

Lee, I.; Wool, R. P. "Polymer Adhesion vs. Substrate Receptor Group Density," Proceedings of the Adhesion Society 23rdAnnual Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC, Feb 20-23, pp 513-515 (2000).