CBE Seminar: Nicholas Abbott

John T. and Magdalen L. Sobota Professor, Hilldale Professor, and Director, Wisconsin Materials Research and Engineering Center

New Insights into Hydrophobic Interactions Encoded by Chemical Nanopatterns

Abstract

The structuring of water near non-polar molecular fragments or surfaces mediates cohesive interactions (so-called hydrophobic interactions) that underlie a broad range of biophysical, colloidal and materials-related phenomena.  Substantial progress has been made during the past decade towards understanding hydrophobic interactions in simple model systems, but in most biological and technological contexts, non-polar domains are found in close proximity to polar and charged functional groups.  We are using conformationally-stable b-amino acid oligomers, and single-molecule force measurements to elucidate hydrophobic interactions encoded by specific chemical nanopatterns. These measurements reveal, for example, that ions immobilized adjacent to non-polar domains can substantially increase or decrease the strength of hydrophobic adhesion, with the effect strongly dependent on the specific ion type.  This understanding is providing a fresh starting point for molecular design in aqueous environments in a broad range of contexts.

 

Bio

Nicholas L. Abbott (University of Wisconsin-Madison) studied at the University of Adelaide and carried out his PhD (awarded in 1991) with Daniel Blankschtein and T. Alan Hatton at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After postdoctoral work with George Whitesides at Harvard University (1991–1993), he joined the faculty at the University of California, Davis in 1993. He moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998, and is currently John T. Sobota and Magdalen L. Sobota Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Director of the Wisconsin Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. Abbott’s research interests are focused on colloidal and interfacial phenomena, including fundamental issues related to the origins of colloidal interactions and the application of chemically tailored interfaces in chemical and biological sensors, biomedical devices, and separation processes. He has reported in Angewandte Chemie on liquid crystal chemical sensors.