Self-Assembly and Crystallization in Nanoscale Confinement
| Category | Publications |
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| Abstract | This supplement has supported a graduate student from Dr. Guangzhao Mao's research group at Wayne State University, Ms. Jenifer Blacklock, to conduct research in Dr. Helmuth Möhwald’s research group at Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam Germany. Dr. Möhwald’s research focuses on the nanoconfinement effect on molecular self-assembly, which impacts molecular electronics, drug delivery, and high-throughput screening. The central hypothesis of the project is when the confinement size is less than the critical nucleus size, the confinement will alter the self-assembled structure. Blacklock conducted research in summer 2008 to explore new characterization methods and applications for the layer-by-layer (LbL). She utilized the unique characterization facilities at the host institution for the study of self-assembled thin films. The thin film structure was studied by quartz crystal microbalance and AFM force measurements. A new application concerns the controlled release of DNA from the LbL films. She determined that cell viability and transfection activity on DNA containing LbL reducible films is highly dependant on the biofunctionality, hydration, charge, and rigidity of the films. |
| Contributor | Mourad Ouzzani
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| Bio | Guangzhao Mao received the B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Nanjing University (P. R. China) in 1988. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Minnesota in 1994. Following a 9-month post-doctoral research in Materials Science at University of Minnesota in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, she joined the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Wayne State University as an Assistant Professor. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2001 and Full Professor in 2007. Her research interests include templated crystallization, nanoparticle thin films, and non-viral gene delivery systems.
Jenifer Blacklock received the B.Sc. degrees in Manufacturing Engineering and in Engineering Management from Miami University Ohio. She obtained her M.Sc. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Wayne State University with a M.Sc. thesis on "Layer-by-Layer Assembly for Controlled Release" in May 2006. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Wayne State University. |
| Cite this work | Researchers should cite this work as follows: Jenifer Blacklock and Guangzhao Mao, "Self-Assembly and Crystallization in Nanoscale Confinement", Trip report presented at the NSF IREE 2008 Grantees Conference, May 2008, Washington, D.C. |
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