Advanced Topics in ChBE

Materials and Interfaces

EnvironmentalEngineering

Biomolecular Engineering

Micro and NanoFabrication

Molecular Bioengineering

Molecular Bioengineering exists at the interface between engineering and molecular biology (cells and molecules) and focuses on both understanding and engineering complex living systems for applications ranging from drug delivery and tissue engineering to biological synthesis of alternative fuels.

Co-localization of focal adhesion complexes in fibroblasts cultured on thermoresponsive polymer brushes.

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ΔT Kevin Ling ‘12

Materials & Interfaces

A fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical properties of interfaces in natural and engineered materials is of paramount importance and finds engineering significance in fields as diverse as drug delivery, water treatment, semiconductor processing, biology, and nanotechnology.

binder reservoir

Voltage generator+

Oscilloscope

strobe

Microdrop

CCD Camera

NI-IMAQ Image

Acquisition

Monitor

Frequency, pulse width,

voltage

Environmental Engineering

While chemical engineers are trained to deal with all aspects of environmental issues, their main focus has been in air pollution control, solid waste management, and hazardous waste management. In response to the growing demand for energy and adverse environmental impacts of fossil fuels, chemical engineers have been active in search for new fuel sources including conversion of waste materials (plastics, cellulosic compounds, etc.) and production of diesel fuel from algae.

Alternative Energy Production from Sustainable Sources

Environmental Fate and Transport of MS2 Bacteriophage

Adhesion and Cohesion in E. coli Mutant Biofilms

Micro-and Nano Fabrication

Chemical engineers are also increasingly applying their fundamental knowledge of chemistry, physics, and math to “scale-down” processes, thereby allowing for a reduction in material and spatial requirements while providing for more controlled operating conditions. This scale-down gives rise to the need to fabricate systems that span length scales that can be on the order of microns to nanometers.

Advanced Topics in ChBE

Materials and Interfaces

EnvironmentalEngineering

Biomolecular Engineering

Micro and NanoFabrication

Cells communicate dynamically with their environment

Nucleus ?

Substrate

DNA RNA PROTEIN

Research Area: Cell-material InteractionsHow does cell phenotype (behavior) change

when a cell is cultured on a different biomaterials? Or rather,

Can cell phenotype be controlled by altering the substrate?

Lauren S. AndersonAssistant ProfessorB.S. Chemical Engineering, Lafayette College Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia

Project #1: Thermoresponsive Polymers

PNIPAM P(MEO2MA-co-OEGMA) “PMO”LCST:

32oCLCST: tunable, 26oC- 90oC

LCST: Lower Critical Solution Temperature

Below LCST polymer

miscibility

Above LCST phase

separationTe

mpera

ture

Composition

LCST

Vary LCST, quantify cell phenotype

37o C: ABOVE LCST

25o C: BELOW LCST

q

q

37oC: above LCSTThermo-brushes collapsed

hydrophobic cell adhesion.

25oC: below LCSTThermo-brushes extended

hydrophilic cell detachment.

ΔTA

B

C

Hydrophobic Cell adhesion

Hydrophilic Cell detachmentq

q

37oC: above LCSTThermo-brushes collapsed

hydrophobic cell adhesion.

25oC: below LCSTThermo-brushes extended

hydrophilic cell detachment.

ΔTA

B

C

Use tools from Molecular Biology: Real-time RT-PCR (gene expression), microscopy (phase and confocal), Western blots/ELISA (protein expression) to quantify cellular phenotype

Project #2: Electrospinning Scaffold architecture influences cellular phenotype

Science 2005, 310, (5751), 1135-1138

Native Extracellular Matrix

Mimic ECM by electrospinning

d

(Nano)particle Colloidal and Interfacial Phenomena: Bioactive Materials

Nano-bio interface

Solid-liquid interface

Suspending Medium

Nanoparticle

Aggregated Nanoparticle

s

+DW

k11S

KO/W

ROS

(I) (II) (III)

Biomembranemimic

t cell

Biomacromolecule

Agnot to scale

Fy

Fx

James K. Ferri Associate Professor

B.S. Johns Hopkins UniversityPh.D. Johns Hopkins University

Research Interests:

o Stability in disperse systems

o Manufacturing and materials processing in microgravity,

o Nanocomposites and bioactive thin film mechanics

Nanomechanics and Interfacial Stabilization

Surfactants

Polymers

Particles

AEG ln

)1(ln0

RT

SLSL q /cos

qqq 2/// sin)cos1(2)cos1(2/ WOSWSOAG

2// )cos1(/ q WOSWAG

)]1(1[1

22

211

sGT

(Nano)particle Colloidal and Interfacial Phenomena

iji

izZjji

iijz CkCCCk

dtCd

,,21

+

Aggregation Kinetics

Adsorption Dynamics and Interfacial Rheology

1 10 100 1000 1000060

65

70

75

80

Sur

face

Ten

sion

(mN

/m)

Time (s)

2.7E17 particles/L 5.4E16 particles/L 2.7E16 particles/L 5.4E15 particles/L

1 10 100 1000 1000060

65

70

75

80

Sur

face

Ten

sion

(mN

/m)

Time (s)

2.7E17 particles/L 5.4E16 particles/L 2.7E16 particles/L 5.4E15 particles/L

T

(Nano)particle Colloidal and Interfacial Phenomena

iji

izZjji

iijz CkCCCk

dtCd

,,21

+

Aggregation Kinetics

Adsorption Dynamics and Interfacial Rheology

1 10 100 1000 1000060

65

70

75

80

Sur

face

Ten

sion

(mN

/m)

Time (s)

2.7E17 particles/L 5.4E16 particles/L 2.7E16 particles/L 5.4E15 particles/L

1 10 100 1000 1000060

65

70

75

80

Sur

face

Ten

sion

(mN

/m)

Time (s)

2.7E17 particles/L 5.4E16 particles/L 2.7E16 particles/L 5.4E15 particles/L

T

Summary

I, wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out knowledge of witty inventions. Proverbs 8.12

Javad Tavakoli

AEC 229; tavakoli@lafayette.edu ; (610) 330-5433 Ph.D., New Jersey Institute of Technology; Newark, NJ M.S., Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill B.S., Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran P.E., Pennsylvania Teaching areas: kinetics and reactor design, unit

operations, chemical engineering laboratories, environmental engineering, alternative energy sources

Renewable energy sources Biomass to fuel Waste to fuel

Catalysis Sustainability Industrial wastewater treatment Hazardous waste treatment

Javad Tavakoli, Ph.D., P.E.ProfessorB.S. Shiraz University, M.S. Illinois Institute of TechnologyPh.D. New Jersey Institute of Technology

Current Research Projects

Conversion of algae to fuel Conversion of waste plastics to fuel Catalytic conversion of methanol to higher

oxygenates ‘Sustainability’ and higher ed. institutions

Polly R. Piergiovanni, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorB.S. Chemical Engineering, University of KansasPh.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Houston

Biofuel from algae with Prof. Tavakoli

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 35000

20406080

100120140160

Dyeing Silk, 45 C

90 mg/ml90 mg/ml180 mg/ml360 mg/ml360 mg/ml

Time (sec)

t/qt

Kinetics of Dye Adsorption

Joshua A. Levinson, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorDept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Micro- and Nano-Fabrication Lab:• Photolithography• Soft-lithography• Microscopy• Microfluidics

Plasma Chamber Spin Coater UV Exposer

Research Areas:• Semiconductor processing technology• Microfluidics• Chemical kinetics• Transport phenomena

Lab Equipment: Also:• Inverted microscope w/ digital imaging• PDMS prep/oven• Hot Plates• Syringe pumps• Ellipsometer• Disposables

• Theoretical models for transport and kinetics of hydrogen in III-V semiconductors

– Density of states, field-enhanced diffusion, reversible reaction kinetics, etc.

• Goal: Validate a predictive computer simulation

• Experimental work derived from literature, prior work, AND through collaboration

• Theoretical work via derivation and computational software (e.g., MATLAB)Microfluidics

• Microfluidics deals with the behavior, precise control, and manipulation of fluids that are geometrically constrained to a small scale (sub-millimeter or less)

• Significant advantages for processing and for process development

• Initial work focusing on droplet formation and droplet emulsions

Modeling and Simulation of Hydrogen Diffusion and Impurity Passivation in Zn-doped InP

Research Opportunities• Fundamental and applied problems

involving chemical kinetics and transport phenomena – Semiconductor processing

– Dopant passivation in III-V materials - modeling and computation

– Other topics possible (e.g., etching, growth, etc.)– Microfluidics studies

– Droplet formation, emulsions, and dynamics– Reactions – Potential for drug delivery and lab-on-chip

applications

• Projects via EXCEL, Honors Thesis, and Independent Study formats