Daniel K. Schwartz
Professor and Associate Chair
ECCH 103B
(303) 735-0240
daniel.schwartz@colorado.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Education:
Ph. D. in Physics, Harvard University (1991)
A.B. summa cum laude in Chemistry and Physics, Harvard University (1984)
Awards:
• CU-Boulder College of Engineering Faculty Research Award (2010)
• Boulder Faculty Assembly Award for Excellence in Research (2008)
• Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1999)
• NSF Career Award (1998)
• Mortarboard Honor Society Salute for Excellence in Teaching (3 times, 1997-1999)
• Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation New Faculty Award (1994)
Selected Publications:
• Stephen T. Marshall, Marykate O’Brien, Brittany Oetter, April Corpu, Ryan M. Richards, Daniel K. Schwartz, , J. William Medlin, Nature Materials, 853-858 (2010) “Controlled Selectivity for Palladium Catalysts using Self-assembled Monolayers”
• Robert Walder, Andrei Honciuc, Daniel K. Schwartz, J. Phys Chem. B, 224, 11484-11488 (2010)
“Phospholipid Diffusion at the Oil-Water Interface”
• Robert Walder and Daniel K. Schwartz, Langmuir, 26, 13364-13367 (2010)
“Single Molecular Observations of Multiple Protein Populations at the Oil/Water Interface”
• Stephanie M. Malone, Siwar Trabelsi, Shishan Zhang, T. Randall Lee, Daniel K. Schwartz, J. Phys.
Chem. C, 114, 8616-8620 (2010)
“Self-assembly of Linactants: Micelles and Lyotropic Liquid Crystals in Two-Dimensions”
• Robert Walder, Andrei Honciuc, and Daniel K. Schwartz, Langmuir 26 1501-1503 (2010)
“Directed Nanobead Motion on a Gradient of Interfacial Free Energy”
• Siwar Trabelsi, Shishan Zhang, Zhongcheng Zhang, T. Randall Lee, Daniel K. Schwartz, Langmuir 25, 8056-8061 (2009) “Correlating Linactant Efficiency and Self-Assembly: Structural Basis of Line-Activity in Molecular Monolayers”
• Andrei Honciuc, Denver Jn. Baptiste, Ian P. Campbell, and Daniel K. Schwartz, Langmuir 25, 7389-7392 (2009) “Solvent Dependence of the Activation Energy of Attachment determined by Single Molecule Observations of Surfactant Adsorption”
• Andrew D. Price, Jordi Ignés-Mullol, Thomas E. Furtak, Yu-an Lo, Stephanie M. Malone, and Daniel K. Schwartz, Soft Matter, 5, 2252-2260 (2009) "Liquid Crystal Anchoring Transformations Induced by Phase Transitions of a Photoisomerizable Surfactant at the Nematic/Aqueous Interface”
• Andrei Honciuc, Daniel K. Schwartz, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 5973-5979 (2009) “Probing Hydrophobic Interactions using Trajectories of Amphiphilic Molecules at a Hydrophobic/Water Interface”
• Andrei Honciuc, Denver Jn. Baptiste, Daniel K. Schwartz, Langmuir 25, 4339-4342 (2009) “Hydrophobic Interaction Microscopy: Mapping the Solid/ Liquid Interface using Amphiphilic Probe Molecules”
• Steve T. Marshall, Daniel K. Schwartz, J. William Medlin, Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 136, 315-319 (2009) “Selective Acetylene Detection Through Surface Modification of Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Sensors with Alkanethiolate Monolayers”
• Siwar Trabelsi, Shishan Zhang, Zhongcheng Zhang, T. Randall Lee, Daniel K. Schwartz, Soft Matter 5, 750-758 (2009) “Semi-fluorinated Phosphonic Acids Form Stable Nanoscale Clusters in Langmuir-Blodgett and Self-Assembled Monolayers”
• Andrei Honciuc, Alexander L. Howard, Daniel K. Schwartz, J Phys Chem C 113, 2078-2081 (2009) “Single Molecule Observations of Fatty Acid Adsorption at the Silica/Water Interface: Activation Energy of Attachment”
Research Interests:
Interfacial phenomena, Biomolecules at interfaces, Surface modification via molecular self-assembly, Single-molecule microscopy methods, Nanoscale surface structures.
Biomolecules at Interfaces:
Biomacromolecules, like proteins and DNA, interact in complex ways at interfaces. We are studying the structural changes that occur when proteins and oligonucleotides adsorb at solid surfaces and at the air/water interface using a combination of single-molecule tracking fluorescence microscopy, interfacial rheology, atomic force microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. We are particularly interested in understanding how intramolecular structural changes (e.g. protein unfolding) affect intermolecular interactions such as aggregation, surface fouling, and the formation of interfacial gels. This has applications in a number of areas, including the stability of pharmaceutical proteins as well as food colloids.
Biosensing at Interfaces:
We are interested in the interactions between surface chemistry and molecular recognition, such as DNA hybridization or protein-ligand binding. The competition between these types of specific interactions and non-specific interfacial adsorption is often the limiting factor in DNA technologies such as microarrays and single-molecule sequencing. Our research aims to develop ways to control non-specific interactions while promoting specific binding. We are also developing ways to use liquid crystals to detect specific molecular interactions at interfaces. Liquid crystalline materials are incredibly sensitive to small changes in the structure and chemistry of interfaces. This sensitivity, combined with the fact that liquid crystals can be used in simple optical displays, makes them very promising as read-out elements for biosensors (see figure below).
Surface Modification using Self-assembled Monolayers:
Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) represent a versatile coating technology with applications in biocompatibility, nanotechnology, biosensors, corrosion resistance, and molecular electronics. We study the growth and structure of SAMs, ultra-thin molecular films adsorbed from solution on solid surfaces, using single molecule fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and spectroscopic techniques, in an effort to develop a deeper understanding of monolayer growth so that this technology will become applicable to a wider variety of substrate materials and applications. Technological applications of current interest in our group include self-organized strategies for the creation of nano-patterned surfaces (the fabrication of molecular "dots" and "lines"), chemical modification of metal catalysts to improve selectivity, modification of biomaterials and membranes to control non-specific adsorption, and development of novel surfaces for liquid crystal alignment.
Molecular Organization in Surfactant Monolayers:
The organization of molecules at fluid/fluid interfaces are directly related to the stability and dynamics of foams and emulsions. These systems are also important models for cell membranes and are of fundamental interest because of their quasi-two dimensional character. We use specialized optical microscopy techniques (fluorescence and Brewster angle microscopy) to study the complicated phase behavior of monolayers at the air/water interface. Our recent work in this area involves the discovery of “linactant” compounds, molecules that preferentially adsorb to two-dimensional phase boundaries in order to reduce the interfacial energy (i.e. the line tension). Such molecules are believed to have an important role in controlling the heterogeneous structure of cell membranes (i.e. lipid rafts).
