Interface-promoted Assembly and Disassembly Processes for Rapid Manufacture and Transport of Complex Hybrid Nanomaterials

The intimate combination of inorganic nanoparticles and organic polymers within nanoscopic packages of controlled sizes and shapes includes many challenges with the processes for their production and many opportunities for unique materials properties. Organic polymers are typically considered as plastics and they have physical and mechanical properties that allow them to serve common roles, such as elastic materials (clothing, tents, parachutes, etc.), containment vessels (cups, plastic bags, etc.), and high technology needs, such as optical materials (eye glasses, OLED devices, etc.), engineering materials (airplane parts, football helmets, etc.), among many others. Inorganic nanoparticles are typically rigid and often possess characteristics of magnetism, optical signaling or catalytic reactivity. This project will develop computational methods to guide approaches to rapidly discover and manufacture hybrid inorganic-organic nanostructured objects (HIONs) possessing complexity of compositions, structures, properties and functions.

Publications

Elucidation of Substantial Differences in Ring-Opening Polymerization Outcomes from Subtle Variation of Glucose Carbonate-Based Monomer Substitution Patterns and Substituent Types

Y. Shen, M. Leng, Y. Yang, S. K. Boopathi, G. Sun, and K. L. Wooley

7/6/2023

Complexities of Regioselective Ring-Opening vs Transcarbonylation-Driven Structural Metamorphosis during Organocatalytic Polymerizations of Five-Membered Cyclic Carbonate Glucose Monomers

Y. Shen, X. Yang, Y. Song, D. K. Tran, H. Wang, J. Wilson, M. Dong, M. Vazquez, G. Sun, and K. L. Wooley

1/14/2022

Machine Learning Enhanced Computational Reverse Engineering Analysis for Scattering Experiments (CREASE) to Determine Structures in Amphiphilic Polymer Solutions

M. G. Wessels, and A. Jayaraman

7/23/2021

Morphologic Design of Silver-Bearing Sugar-Based Polymer Nanoparticles for Uroepithelial Cell Binding and Antimicrobial Delivery

Y. Song, M. Elsabahy, C. A. Collins, S. Khan, R. Li, T. N. Hreha, Y. Shen, Y. Lin, R. A. Letteri, L. Su, M. Dong, F. Zhang, D. A. Hunstad, and K. L. Wooley

6/11/2021

Morphologic design of sugar-based polymer nanoparticles for delivery of antidiabetic peptides

M. Elsabahy, Y. Song, N. G. Eissa, S. Khan, M. A. Hamad, and K. L. Wooley

6/1/2021

Polypeptide organic radical batteries

T. P. Nguyen, A. D. Easley, N. Kang, S. Khan, S. Lim, Y. H. Rezenom, S. Wang, D. K. Tran, J. Fan, R. A. Letteri, X. He, L. Su, C. Yu, J. L. Lutkenhaus, and K. L. Wooley

5/5/2021

Computational Reverse-Engineering Analysis of Scattering Experiments (CREASE) on Amphiphilic Block Polymer Solutions: Cylindrical and Fibrillar Assembly

M. G. Wessels, and A. Jayaraman

1/5/2021

Invoking Side-Chain Functionality for the Mediation of Regioselectivity during Ring-Opening Polymerization of Glucose Carbonates

Y. Song, X. Yang, Y. Shen, M. Dong, Y. Lin, M. B. Hall, and K. L. Wooley

9/23/2020

Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Poly(d-glucose carbonate) Amphiphilic Block Copolymers in Mixed Solvents

J. Y. Lee, Y. Song, M. G. Wessels, A. Jayaraman, K. L. Wooley, and D. J. Pochan

9/21/2020

Anionic nanoparticle and microplastic non-exponential distributions from source scale with grain size in environmental granular media

W. P. Johnson, A. Rasmuson, C. Ron, B. Erickson, K. VanNess, D. Bolster, and B. Peters

9/1/2020

A Tale of Drug-Carrier Optimization: Controlling Stimuli Sensitivity via Nanoparticle Hydrophobicity through Drug Loading

Y. Lin, S. Khan, Y. Song, M. Dong, Y. Shen, D. K. Tran, C. Pang, F. Zhang, and K. L. Wooley

8/10/2020

Quantitative Linking of Nanoscale Interactions to Continuum-Scale Nanoparticle and Microplastic Transport in Environmental Granular Media

W. P. Johnson

5/27/2020

Erythrocyte-Membrane-Camouflaged Nanocarriers with Tunable Paclitaxel Release Kinetics via Macromolecular Stereocomplexation

Y. Lin, M. Elsabahy, S. Khan, F. Zhang, Y. Song, M. Dong, R. Li, J. Smolen, R. A. Letteri, L. Su, and K. L. Wooley

4/30/2020

Self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers of varying architectures near attractive surfaces

M. G. Wessels, and A. Jayaraman

1/1/2020

Complementary colloid and collector nanoscale heterogeneity explains microparticle retention under unfavorable conditions

C. A. Ron, and W. P. Johnson

1/1/2020

Degradable sugar-based magnetic hybrid nanoparticles for recovery of crude oil from aqueous environments

M. Dong, Y. Song, H. Wang, L. Su, Y. Shen, D. K. Tran, R. A. Letteri, J. A. Flores, Y. Lin, J. Li, and K. L. Wooley

1/1/2020

In Situ Production of Ag/Polymer Asymmetric Nanoparticles via a Powerful Light-Driven Technique

R. Li, H. Wang, Y. Song, Y. Lin, M. Dong, Y. Shen, S. Khan, S. Zhang, J. Fan, F. Zhang, L. Su, and K. L. Wooley

12/10/2019

Polymers with controlled assembly and rigidity made with click-functional peptide bundles

D. Wu, N. Sinha, J. Lee, B. P. Sutherland, N. I. Halaszynski, Y. Tian, J. Caplan, H. V. Zhang, J. G. Saven, C. J. Kloxin, and D. J. Pochan

10/30/2019

Computational Reverse-Engineering Analysis for Scattering Experiments on Amphiphilic Block Polymer Solutions

D. J. Beltran-Villegas, M. G. Wessels, J. Y. Lee, Y. Song, K. L. Wooley, D. J. Pochan, and A. Jayaraman

9/9/2019

Theory-Guided Targeted Delivery of Nanoparticles in Advective Environmental Porous Media

C. A. Ron, M. Dong, K. L. Wooley, and W. P. Johnson

8/30/2019

Experiments and Simulations of Complex Sugar-Based Coil−Brush Block Polymer Nanoassemblies in Aqueous Solution

M. Dong, M. G. Wessels, J. Y. Lee, L. Su, H. Wang, R. A. Letteri, Y. Song, Y. Lin, Y. Chen, R. Li, D. J. Pochan, A. Jayaraman, and K. L. Wooley

4/16/2019

Molecular dynamics simulation study of linear, bottlebrush, and star-like amphiphilic block polymer assembly in solution

M. G. Wessels, and A. Jayaraman

1/1/2019

How nanoscale surface heterogeneity impacts transport of nano- to micro-particles on surfaces under unfavorable attachment conditions

C. A. Ron, K. VanNess, A. Rasmuson, and W. P. Johnson

1/1/2019

Advancing the Development of Highly-Functionalizable Glucose-Based Polycarbonates by Tuning of the Glass Transition Temperature

Y. Song, X. Ji, M. Dong, R. Li, Y. Lin, H. Wang, and K. L. Wooley

11/12/2018

Functional, Degradable Zwitterionic Polyphosphoesters as Biocompatible Coating Materials for Metal Nanostructures

R. Li, M. Elsabahy, Y. Song, H. Wang, L. Su, R. A. Letteri, S. Khan, G. S. Heo, G. Sun, Y. Liu, and K. L. Wooley

10/22/2018

Molecular Dynamics Simulation and PRISM Theory Study of Assembly in Solutions of Amphiphilic Bottlebrush Block Copolymers

I. Lyubimov, M. G. Wessels, and A. Jayaraman

9/20/2018

Construction of nanostructures in aqueous solution from amphiphilic glucose‐derived polycarbonates

S. Osumi, S. E. Felder, H. Wang, Y. Lin, M. Dong, and K. L. Wooley

9/19/2018

Assembly of Amphiphilic Block Copolymers and Nanoparticles in Solution: Coarse-Grained Molecular Simulation Study

D. J. Beltran-Villegas, and A. Jayaraman

2/5/2018

Co-assembly of sugar-based amphiphilic block polymers to achieve nanoparticles with tunable morphology, size, surface charge, and acid-responsive behavior

Y. Lin, L. Su, J. Smolen, R. Li, Y. Song, H. Wang, M. Dong, and K. L. Wooley

1/1/2018

Molecular dynamics simulations and PRISM theory study of solutions of nanoparticles and triblock copolymers with solvophobic end blocks

D. J. Beltran-Villegas, I. Lyubimov, and A. Jayaraman

1/1/2018

PRISM Theory Study of Amphiphilic Block Copolymer Solutions with Varying Copolymer Sequence and Composition

I. Lyubimov, D. J. Beltran-Villegas, and A. Jayaraman

9/7/2017

Crystallization-driven assembly of fully degradable, natural product-based poly(l-lactide)-block-poly(α-d-glucose carbonate)s in aqueous solution

Y. Song, Y. Chen, L. Su, R. Li, R. A. Letteri, and K. L. Wooley

7/1/2017

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Research Highlights

Interface-promoted Assembly and Disassembly Processes for Rapid Manufacture of Complex Hybrid Nanomaterials

11/14/2019

Recovery of Crude Oil from Aqueous Environments

2/18/2020

Theory-guided Targeted Delivery of Nanoparticles in Advective Environmental Porous Media

William P. Johnson and Karen L. Wooley

11/14/2019

Degradable Block Copolymers

Karen Wooley (Texas A&M University)

3/20/2018

Polymer-based Outreach Activities

Karen Wooley (Texas A&M University)

3/20/2018

View All Highlights