Anne A. Lazarides, Research Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry
Northwestern University

E-mail: lazarides@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847-491-2271
Web: http://www.chem.northwestern.edu/~lazarides

BS, Yale University
PhD, Princeton University

Research associate in chemistry, Northwestern University
Research associate in condensed matter physics, Xerox Center for Research and Technology

Research Areas
Nanostructures are known to exhibit fascinating properties, both quantized and classical in nature. For example, a coulomb blockade to electron transfer can be observed in pairs of metal nanoparticles, while chains of nanoparticles can propagate light according to the laws of classical electrodynamics. Many of these properties are of both fundamental scientific interest and also offer promise of contributing to new nanoscale technology. Our goal is to understand how nanoscale structure controls the static and dynamic properties of bioinorganic materials and to use this knowledge to design nanostructures and materials with useful properties. We are developing theoretical methods that make it possible to predict properties of nanostructures from properties of the components and are pursuing experimental studies of nanoscale structure. We are interested as well in the forces that control nanostructure assembly and we work closely with groups that have pioneered new strategies for making novel nanostructures. Several of these collaborative activities are outlined below.

DNA-linked nanoparticle materials:
Mirkin and Letsinger of the NU chemistry department have developed a method for preparing nanostructured materials from common inorganic building blocks and DNA interconnect molecules. These materials have been shown to have optical and electrical properties that make them useful as biomolecule sensors and are highly dependent upon the underlying nanoscale structure. We have done X-ray scattering experiments at the Advanced Photon Source (Sector 5 - DNDCAT) that show that duplex DNA provides predictable control of particle separations and we are engaged in an ongoing program to learn more about the nanoscale structure of this extremely interesting family of materials and the forces that guide the assembly. In conjunction with the Schatz group, we are developing computational methods based upon classical electrodynamics that will help us understand the optical properties of these materials, and, in particular, the structural dependence of these unusual and useful properties.

Energy transport in surface-bound nanoparticle systems:
Several groups at NU (Mirkin, Van Duyne) have developed novel methods of assembling nanoparticles on surfaces with resolutions of several nanometers. These systems have significant potential utility as components in nanoscale molecular sensors partly by virtue of their largely unexplored ability to function as sub-wavelength waveguides. We are interested in understanding how these 1- and 2-D systems propagate and scatter light. We are pursuing both analytical and computational approaches to this problem and, under the aegis of our Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, will be collaborating in near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) studies of these systems. The high level of structural control afforded by the new assembly schemes combined with our ongoing theoretical studies of the effects of nanoscale structure on the nature of interparticle interactions will enable us to pursue detailed, coupled experimental and theoretical studies of fundamental issues such as the sensitivity of energy transport to particle placement and nanoscale order.

Related Publications
"Directed Assembly of Periodic Materials from Protein and Oligonucleotide-Modified Nanoparticle Building Blocks," S.-J. Park, A.A. Lazarides, C.A. Mirkin, R.L. Letsinger, Angew, Chem. Int. Ed. 40, 2909 (2001).

"Computational Electromagnetics of Metal Nanoparticles and their Aggregates," K.L. Kelly, A.A. Lazarides, G.C. Schatz, Comput. Sci. Eng., 3, 67 (2001).

"The Electrical Properties of Gold Nanoparticle Assemblies Linked by DNA," S.-J. Park, A.A. Lazarides, C.A. Mirkin, P.W. Braziz, C.R. Kannewurf, R.L. Letsinger. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 39, 3845 (2000).

"What Controls the Optical Properties of DNA-linked Gold Nanoparticle Assemblies?," J.J. Storhoff, A.A. Lazarides, R.C. Mucic, C.A. Mirkin, R.L. Letsinger, G.C. Schatz, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 122, 4640 (2000).

"Optical Properties of Metal Nanoparticles and Nanoparticle Aggregates Important in Biosensors," A.A. Lazarides, K.L. Kelly, T.R. Jensen, G.C. Schatz, Theochem, 529, 59 (2000).

"DNA-linked Metal Nanosphere Materials: Fourier Transform Solutions for the Optical Response," A.A. Lazarides, G.C. Schatz, J. Chem. Phys., 112, 2987 (2000).

"DNA-linked Metal Nanosphere Materials: Structural Basis for the Optical Properties," A.A. Lazarides, G.C. Schatz, J. Phys. Chem., 104, 460 (2000).

"Nanosphere Lithography: Effect of the External Dielectric Medium on the Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectrum of a Periodic Array of Silver Nanoparticles," T.R. Jensen, M.L. Duval, K.L. Kelly, A.A. Lazarides, G.C. Schatz, R.P. Van Duyne, J. Phys. Chem. B, 103, 9846 (1999).

"Low-Energy Positron Diffraction from CdTe(110)," C.B. Duke, A. Paton, A.A. Lazarides, D. Vasumathi, K.F. Canter, Phys. Rev. B, 55, 7181 (1997).