Sibani Lisa Biswal

Research Interests:

Interactions of colloidal particles with solid and liquid media

Interfacial behavior of biomolecules

Micro- and nanoscale transport

Design of integrated microscale systems

Polymer surfaces, interfaces and thin films

Energy dissipation at interfaces

Education:

B.S. (1999) California Institute of Technology

M.S. (2001) Stanford University

Ph.D. (2004) Stanford University

Postdoctoral Associate (2004-2006) University of California at Berkeley

Intermolecular forces lead to unique structures in self-assembling systems and play a major role in many biochemical processes, such as drug-receptor binding.  Our area of research involves exploiting these forces to develop novel materials, with a primary focus on understanding and controlling their physical and chemical properties.  One problem of interest is how confined colloidal fluids can change their structure and mechanical properties under the action of controlled external forces. Unlike molecular self-assembled systems which are at equilibrium, the systems we study are dynamic and become ordered when energy is dissipated.  We are developing nano- and microfluidic systems to change the scale of confinement, thereby changing the rules for self-assembly.

The second area of interest is interfacing biological molecules with inorganic substrates.  These hybrid biomaterials allow us to convert molecular and biological signals into mechanical and electronic information.  These areas of research are based on understanding and designing interactions among nanoparticles, biomolecules, and surfaces with the hopes of achieving new types of functionality.

Selected Publications

1. Biswal, S.L.; Gast, A.P., “Mechanics of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Linked Paramagnetic Particles,” Physics Review E 68(2), 021402 (2003).

2. Biswal, S.L.; Gast, A.P., “Rotational Mechanics of Semiflexible Paramagnetic Particle Chains,” Physics Review E 69(4), 041406 (2004).

3. Biswal, S.L.; Gast, A.P., “Magnetically Actuated Micromixers,” Analytical Chemistry 76 (21), pp 6448-6455 (2004).

4. Biswal, S.L.; Roarane, D., Chaiken, A., Majumdar, A., “Nanomechanical Detection of DNA Melting on Microcantilever Surfaces,” Analytical Chemistry (accepted, in press 2006).

5. Biswal, S.L.; Roarane, D., Chaiken, A., Majumdar, A., “Using a Microcantilever Array for Detecting Phase Transitions and Stability of DNA,” Journal of the Association for Laboratory Automation 11 (4) pg 222-226 (2006).

CHEMICAL & BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING DEPT. MS-362
Rice University PO Box 1892 Houston, Texas 77251-1892	E-mail: chbe@rice.edu	Phone: (713) 348-4902 FAX:(713) 348-5478