James W. Schneider
Professor of Chemical Engineering

Office: Doherty Hall 3121
Phone: (412) 268-4394
Fax: (412) 268-7139
Email: schneider@cmu.edu
Secretary: Alice Yochum
    Phone: (412) 268-9851
    Email: ayochum@andrew.cmu.edu

Biography
Research Interests
Highlights
Awards and Honors
Publications
Research Group Site

Biography

Professor James Schneider received his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1992 and his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1998. He then spent two years in a postdoc position at the Naval Research Laboratory, after which he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in 1999, attaining the rank of Full Professor in 2008. Prof. Schneider also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of BioMedical Engineering at CMU.

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Research Interests

Professor Schneider's areas of research are bioseparations, biomimetic materials, and atomic force microscopy.

Professor Schneider's work focuses on the development of novel colloidal and biomolecular materials for bioanalytical devices, pharmaceutical processing, and drug delivery. We are also developing methods to better characterize these biologically inspired materials using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and other aspects of nanotechnology.

DNA Purification using Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles
Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are synthetic materials that hybridize with complementary DNA and RNA with great sequence selectivity. We have developed a series of PNA amphiphiles that self-assemble in solution and bind tightly to nonpolar chromatographic media while retaining their unique DNA binding properties. We have demonstrated that both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA targets can be easily separated from non- target DNA by this tag-and-separate approach. Current efforts include scaling up the process for the large-scale purification of plasmid DNA, and using capillary electrophoresis to separate and concentrate target DNA or RNA in microfluidic, lab-on-a- chip analysis systems.

Intermolecular Force Measurement by Dynamic AFM
Tapping-mode AFM is a well established method for the imaging of soft surfaces. We have developed a methodology to interpret the attenuation of the AFM tip oscillation as the tip approaches soft surfaces. By accounting for and removing the effect of hydrodynamic forces and other viscous effects, we obtain the interaction force between tip and sample during a tapping mode experiment. By using this method, we can probe polymer chain dynamics and receptor-ligand interactions at very fast time scales. Currently, we are applying this method to investigate receptor-ligand interactions in polymer thin films similar to those used in biosensors.

Improved Mass Transfer in Bioanalytical Devices
Many biosensing modalities require that probes be immobilized on surfaces for detection using waveguides, acoustic vibrations, or fluorescence. Here, detection can be slow in highly dilute solutions due to the long (average) distances analytes must traverse to bind immobilized probes. We are working to accelerate the transport of these analytes to surface-bound probes by approaches that encourage surface diffusion or employ responsive polymers. Surface diffusion and binding kinetics are measured using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and total-internal-reflection fluorescence (TIRF), respectively.

Highly Sensitive DNA Detection Using Functionalized Liposomes
Liposomes can serve as high-gain amplifiers for biomolecule detection by gravimetry, or when filled with dyes, fluorescence. We have developed chemistries that rigidly attach PNAs to liposomes for DNA detection with great sequence selectivity and high resolution. Currently we are implementing DNA-binding liposomes in capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection with an eye toward incorporation in microfluidic systems.

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Highlights

• Demonstrated resolution of over 100 bases in two minutes using micelle-ELFSE method in bench-top capillary electrophoresis, a ten-fold improvement over polymer or gel-based methods. A full patent application for the technology was submitted by the CMU Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation.

• Used rod-like micelles and other surfactant structures to apply micelle-ELFSE methods to DNA longer than 2500 bases, surpassing the “biased reptation” limit imposed by polymer gels. Project received a three-year grant from NSF-CBET.

• Used atomic-force microscopy method to evaluate disjoining pressure vs. height for phase-separated polymer films. Measurements verified the characteristic inflection predicted by theory near conditions of phase separation.

• Initiated a microfluidic design project that leverages the micelle-ELFSE system in collaboration with Tamal Mukherjee (ECE) and Erik Ydstie (ChemE). Project funded by a subcontract to an external NIH SBIR grant (Mukherjee).

• Served as National Programming Chair for Division 15 of AIChE.

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Awards and Honors

• 2005 Kun Li Award for Excellence in Education

• 2002 Beckman Young Investigator Award

• 2001 NSF CAREER Award

• 1998-1999 ASEE Postdoctoral Fellowship, Naval Research Laboratory

• 1993-1997 Kodak Fellowship, University of Minnesota

• 1992 University of Minnesota Graduate School Fellowship

• 1992 NSF Graduate Fellowship, Honorable Mention

• 1991 Dow Outstanding Junior in Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin

• 1988-1992 National Merit Scholar, University of Wisconsin

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Publications

       Recent Publications

       Selected Publications

       Full Publications

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Recent Publications

“Quasi-Equilibrium AFM Measurement of Disjoining Pressure in Lubricant Nanofilms II: Effect of Substrate Materials,” A.P. Bowles, Y.T. Hsia, P.M. Jones, L.R. White, and J.W. Schneider, Langmuir 25:2101-2106 (2009).

“Length-Dependent DNA Separations using Multiple End-attached Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography,” J.M. Savard, S.T. Grosser, and J.W. Schneider, Electrophoresis 29:2779-2789 (2008).

“Peptide Nucleic Acids,” C. Achim, B.A. Armitage, D.H. Ly, and J.W. Schneider, in Wiley Encyclopedia of Chemical Biology, Wiley: Hoboken, NJ. (2008).

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Selected Publications

"Characterization of Distance-Dependent Damping in Tapping-Mode AFM Force Measurements in Liquid," I. Nnebe and J.W. Schneider, Langmuir 20:3195-3201 (2004).

"Sequence-Specific Purification of Oligonucleotides using Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles in Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography," J.P. Vernille and J.W. Schneider, in press for Biotech. Progress (2004).

"Direct Force Measurement of the Stability of Poly(ethylene glycol)- Poly(ethylenimine) Graft Films," I. Nnebe, R.D. Tilton, and J.W. Schneider, 276:306-316 J. Coll. Int. Sci. (2004).

"Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) Amphiphiles: Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Duplex Stability," J.P. Vernille, B.F. Marques, and J.W. Schneider, submitted to Bioconj. Chem. (2004).

"Nanometer Scale Surface Properties of Supported Lipid Bilayers Measured with Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Atomic Force Microscope Probes," J. Schneider, W. Barger, and G.U. Lee, Langmuir 19: 1899-1907 (2003).

"Surface Force Measurements of Electrostatic and Hydrogen Bonding Interactions between Bilayers of Glycine Amphiphiles," J. Schneider, P. Berndt, K. Haverstick, S. Kumar, S. Chiruvolu, and M. Tirrell, Langmuir 18: 3923-3931 (2002).

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Full Publications

1. “Adsorption of Hydrophilic-Hydrophobic Block Copolymers on Silica from Aqueous Solutions,” C. Amiel, M. Sikka, J.W. Schneider, Y.-H. Tsao, M. Tirrell, and J.W. Mays. Macromolecules 28:3125-3134 (1995).

2. “Characterization of the Physical Properties of Model Membranes at the Nanometer Scale with the Atomic Force Microscope,” Y.F. Dufrêne, T. Boland, J.W. Schneider, W.R. Barger, and G.U. Lee. Faraday Disc. 111:79-94 (1998).

3. “Effect of Substrate Anchoring on the Mechanical Strength of Langmuir-Blodgett Bilayers,” J. Schneider, Y. Dori, M. Tirrell, and R. Sharma. Thin Solid Films 327-329: 772-777 (1998).

4. “Force and Adhesion Measurements between Hydrogen-Bonded Layers of Glycine-Functionalized Amphiphiles,” J. Schneider, P. Berndt, K. Haverstick, S. Kumar, S. Chiruvolu, and M. Tirrell. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120:3508-3509 (1998).

5. “Direct Measurement of Molecular-Level Forces and Adhesion in Biological Systems,” J. Schneider and M. Tirrell. Drugs Pharm. Sci. 98: 223-259 (1999).

6. “Development and Characterization of Surface Chemistries for Silicon-Based Biosensors,” S.W. Metzger, M. Natesan, C. Yanavich, J. Schneider, and G.U. Lee. J. Vac. Sci. Technol.A 17: 2623-2628 (1999).

7. “Atomic Force Microscope Image Contrast Mechanisms on Supported Lipid Bilayers,” J. Schneider, Y.F. Dufrêne, W.R. Barger, and G.U. Lee. Biophys. J. 79:1107-1118 (2000).

8. “Structural Study of Langmuir Monolayers Containing Lipidated Poly(ethylene glycol) and Peptides,” H. Bianco-Peled, Y. Dori, J. Schneider, L.P. Sung, S. Satija, M. Tirrell. Langmuir 17: 6931-6937 (2001).

9. “Peptide Nucleic Acid Conjugates in Biotechnology,” J. Schneider. In Biomimetic Materials and Design: Biointerfacial Strategies, Tissue Engineering and Targeted Drug Delivery, A.K. Dillow and A.M. Lowman, eds. New York: Marcel-Dekker (2002).

10. “Surface Force Measurements of Electrostatic and Hydrogen Bonding Interactions between Bilayers of Glycine Amphiphiles,” J. Schneider, P. Berndt, K. Haverstick, S. Kumar, S. Chiruvolu, and M. Tirrell, Langmuir 18: 3923-3931 (2002).

11. “Force Titration of Langmuir-Blodgett Bilayers of Glycine Amphiphiles: JKR-Type Measurements Using the Surface-Force Apparatus,” J. Schneider, Y. Dori, K. Haverstick, M. Tirrell, and R. Sharma. Langmuir 18: 2702-2709 (2002).

12. “Nanometer Scale Surface Properties of Supported Lipid Bilayers Measured with Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Atomic Force Microscope Probes,” J. Schneider, W. Barger, and G.U. Lee, Langmuir 19: 1899-1907 (2003)

13. “Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) Amphiphiles: Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Duplex Stability,” J.P. Vernille, L.C. Kovell, and J.W. Schneider, Bioconj. Chem. 15:1314-1321 (2004).

14. “Sequence-Specific Purification of Oligonucleotides using Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles in Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography,” J.P. Vernille and J.W. Schneider, Biotechnol. Prog. 20:1776-1782 (2004).

15. “Characterization of Distance-Dependent Damping in Tapping-Mode AFM Force Measurements in Liquid,” I. Nnebe and J.W. Schneider, Langmuir 20:3195-3201 (2004).

16. “Direct Force Measurement of the Stability of Poly(ethylene glycol)-Poly(ethylenimine) Graft Films,” I. Nnebe, R.D. Tilton, and J.W. Schneider, 276:306-316 J. Coll. Int. Sci. (2004).

17. “Dynamic Atomic Force Microscopy Studies to Characterize Heterogeneous Surfaces,” I. Nnebe and J.W. Schneider. In Marcel-Dekker Encyclopaedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. New York: Marcel-Dekker (2004).

18. “Sequence-Specific Binding of DNA to Liposomes Containing di-Alkyl Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) Amphiphiles,” B.F. Marques and J.W. Schneider, Langmuir 21:2488-2494 (2005).

19. “Thermodynamic and Structural Characterization of Amino Acid-Linked Dialkyl Lipids,” S. Tristam-Nagle, R.N.A.H. Lewis, J.W. Blickenstaff, M. DiPrima, B.F. Marques, R.N. McElhaney, J.F. Nagle, and J.W. Schneider, Chem. Phys. Lipids 134:29-39 (2005).

20. “Measurement of Disjoining Pressure of Z-type Perfluoropolyether Lubricants on Si and SiNx Surfaces,” P.M. Jones, M. Luo, L.R. White, J. Schneider, M.L. Wu, C. Platt, L. Li, and Y.T. Hsia, Tribology International 38:528-532 (2005).

21. “Morphological Characterization of Self-Assembled Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles,” C. Lau, R. Bitton, H. Bianco-Peled, D.G. Schultz, D.J. Cookson, S.T. Grosser, and J.W. Schneider, J. Phys. Chem. B 110:9027-9033 (2006).

22. “A Tapping-Mode AFM Study of the Compression of Grafted Poly(ethylene glycol) Chains,” I.M. Nnebe and J.W. Schneider, Macromolecules 39:3616-3621 (2006).

23. “Effect of Electrostatic Interactions on Binding and Retention of DNA Oligomers to PNA Liposomes Assessed by FRET Measurements,” B.F. Marques and J.W. Schneider, Coll. Surf. B: Biointerfaces 53:1-8 (2006).

24. “Quasi-Equilibrium AFM Measurement of Disjoining Pressure in Lubricant Nano-Films I: Fomblin Z03 on Silica,” A.P. Bowles, Y.T. Hsia, P.M. Jones, J.W. Schneider, and L.R. White, Langmuir 22:11436-11446 (2006).

25. “Identification of PCR Products using Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography,” S.T. Grosser, J.M. Savard, and J.W. Schneider, Anal. Chem. 79:9513-9519 (2007).

26. “High Capacity, Charge-Selective Protein Uptake by Polyelectrolyte Brushes,” A. Kusumo, L. Bombalski, Q. Lin, K. Matyjaszewski, J.W. Schneider, and R.D. Tilton, Langmuir 23:4448-4454 (2007).

27. “Sequence-Specific Purification of DNA Oligomers in Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography using Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles: Extended Dynamic Range,” J.M. Savard and J.W. Schneider, Biotech. Bioeng. 97:367-376 (2007).

28. “Sequence-Specific Purification of DNA Oligomers in Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography using Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles: Extended Dynamic Range,” J.M. Savard and J.W. Schneider, Biotech. Bioeng. 97:367-376 (2007).

29. “Peptide Nucleic Acids,” C. Achim, B.A. Armitage, D.H. Ly, and J.W. Schneider, in Wiley Encyclopedia of Chemical Biology, Wiley: Hoboken, NJ. (2008).

30. “Free Solution Electrophoresis of Alkylated DNA in the Presence of Interacting Micelles,” S.T. Grosser, J.M. Savard, and J.W. Schneider, in preparation for J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2008).

31. “Length-Dependent DNA Separations using Multiple End-attached Peptide Nucleic Acid Amphiphiles in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography,” J.M. Savard, S.T. Grosser, and J.W. Schneider, Electrophoresis 29:2779-2789 (2008).

32. “Quasi-Equilibrium AFM Measurement of Disjoining Pressure in Lubricant Nanofilms II: Effect of Substrate Materials,” A.P. Bowles, Y.T. Hsia, P.M. Jones, L.R. White, and J.W. Schneider, Langmuir 25:2101-2106 (2009).

33. “Quasi-Equilibrium AFM Measurement of Disjoining Pressure in Lubricant Nanofilms II: Effect of Substrate Materials,” A.P. Bowles, Y.T. Hsia, P.M. Jones, L.R. White, and J.W. Schneider, Langmuir 25:2101-2106 (2009).

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