Soft and Biological Nanomaterials

Contact: Oleg Gang

Advances in the nanosciences have revealed a plethora of new nanoscale synthetic objects with intriguing physical- and chemical-characteristics, and exciting emerging properties in energy transfer, catalytic activity, and light conversion. However, assembly of the diversity of nanocomponents in pre-designed architectures is remaining great challenge. How to build complex nanoscale systems from many different components? How to control a structure, dynamical behavior and functionality of these systems?

Even the simplest of living systems possess a remarkable level of control over their nanometer-scale architectures, their metabolic cycles of energy- and mass-conversion, and their ability to self-regulate in changing environments. These bio-systems offer a proof-of-principle that complex functioning systems can be effectively integrated from nanoscale components. Adapting their underlying principles to create bio-inspired nanosystems from hybrid, soft/organic and hard/inorganic, components is advantageous for efficient nanomaterial fabrication. Further, the incorporated functionality of synthetic nanocomponents with unique features, such as conformational reconfiguration and self-repair will allow us to generate large area, defect-tolerant, “smart” materials for controlled photon conversion and the regulated flow of chemical reactants.

The main goal of our efforts in the Soft and Biological Nanomaterials Group at CFN is to develop methods for assembly and characterization of hybrid nanoscale systems and explore their functionalities for energy conversion. Our approach for system assembly utilizes the unique properties of macromolecules, including recognition, re-configurability, and reversibility of interactions for regulated self-assembly of nano-objects into materials and devices. We focus our efforts on the (i) development of a suite of methods for precise assembly of nano-components in pre-determined architectures, ranging from clusters containing a few nano-components to extended structures containing billions of components; (ii) investigation of principles for the creation of responsive and reconfigurable nanosystems capable of switching between multiple states, and understanding their dynamic behavior; (iii) exploration of functional model systems for light harvesting and energy conversion using optically active nanoscale structure.

Associated Group Capabilities

Capabilities include techniques and methods required for the synthesis, regulated nanoscale assembly and study a structure and functional properties of soft and biological matter, and hybrid systems. Synthetic capabilities include solution-based synthesis and functionalization. A suite of in-situ characterization techniques provides structural and functional probing for soft matter system, surfaces, and single particles using a broad range of spectroscopic, x-ray scattering, optical, and scanning probes methods.

• Macromolecular and Nanomaterial Synthesis & Assembly
  Capabilities include techniques and methods required for the synthesis, fabrication and study of novel hybrid structures and functionalities using regulated nanoscale assembly and self-organization approaches. Capabilities and expertise include solution-based synthesis and characterization of a variety of soft, biological, hybrid and inorganic nanomaterials, advanced functionalization routes for surfaces and nano-objects, and selective biomolecular recognition.
• Structural Probing
  In-situ structural characterization can be performed for surfaces, thin films nanoparticles, biological complexes, nanofabricated structures and hybrid composites under environmental condition. We utilize the range of x-ray, optical, spectroscopic and scanning probe methods for structure characterization.
• Optical Methods and Energy Transfer Characterization
  A broad range of optical methods is available for characterization of energy transfer phenomena down to single molecular/particle level. Our capabilities include time- and spectrally resolved bulk/single molecule confocal fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.

Group Members

• Oleg Gang, Group Leader
• William Sherman, Scientist
• Mircea Cotlet, Scientist
• Mathew Maye, Goldhaber Fellow
• Dmytro Nykypanchuk, Postdoctoral Fellow
• Soo-Kwan Lee, Postdoctoral Fellow
• Huiming Xiong, Postdoctoral Fellow
• Kumara Mudalige, Postdoctoral Fellow

Last Modified: May 20, 2008
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One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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