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 Associate Professor
Department of Bioengineering
5121G Engineering V
310-825-4451 | 310-794-5956 fax
schmidt@seas.ucla.edu | Biohybrid Microsystems Laboratory
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Education
- B.S., University of Minnesota, 1991
- M.S., University of Minnesota, 1996
- Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1999
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Awards and Recognitions
- NSF Career Award, 2007 - 2012
Research Interests
- nanobiotechnology
- single molecule sensing using membrane proteins
- biomimetic membranes
- microfluidics
- manipulation and creation of biologically-functionalized devices
The central theme of the Schmidt group is to combine physical and biological nanofabrication techniques with protein engineering to make new kinds of hybrid devices. To perform this research, we have a highly multidisciplinary laboratory, drawing upon biology, physics, and nanofabrication— capable of performing all aspects of protein production and engineering as well as biophysical measurements of proteins and cells integrated with fabricated structures. My laboratory applies engineering design principles and techniques to create unique biologically functionalized materials. Potential applications are also driven by relationships with industry and medicine.
A major research focus is on the exploration and development of devices functionalized by membrane proteins. These compact and highly versatile proteins can pump ions and analytes, sense touch and temperature, or transduce energy. The functional lifetimes of these proteins can be extended from hours to years through polymer incorporation, allowing their properties to be fully exploited and resulting in new classes of materials. The porosity of some pore proteins can be modulated by pH and electric potential (left). Expanding the palette to other voltage-sensitive membrane proteins leads to the creation of devices which can controllably transport molecules and material specifiable by size and type. This molecular-specific transport can be used as a detection or sortation method. Use of aquaporins, water-specific transport proteins, results in a water filtration and purification apparatus. Combination of different transport proteins in the same device would allow the manipulation and detection of multiple analytes simultaneously, creating a “smart filter” which can pass specific analytes from heterogeneous mixtures, such as blood serum or cytosol; or “lab-on-a-chip”, where biochemical preparations are made which require the dispensation of prescribed amounts of reagents for specified lengths of time. This work can be extended beyond material transport applications: mechanosensitive channel proteins such as MscL have been shown to increase their conductivity upon physical contact; Prestin is an auditory protein which has a natural biological function converting sound waves to electrical signals. Other membrane proteins, such as VR1 and CMR1, have been shown to react to heat and cold, respectively. Engineering these proteins will result in nanoscale mechanical, acoustic, and thermal sensors. The large variety of functions of membrane proteins promises an equally large number of possible applications and devices.
In addition, we are also interested in the development of novel devices and instrumentation for the study and manipulation of these hybrid systems on the micro and nanoscales. We combine electrical, optical, and mechanical measurement and manipulation techniques to create and study hybrid systems. We are guided by an ultimate goal of creating engineered systems useful in biological, materials, and biomedical applications.
Recent Papers
- Poulous J.L., Jeon T.J., Schmidt J.J., "Automatable production of shippable bilayer chips by pin tool deposition for an ion channel measurement platform," Biotechnol J. 2010 May;5(5):511-4.
- Thapliyal T., Poulous J.L., Schmidt J.J., "Autmoated lipid bilayer and ion channel measurement platform," Biosens Bioelectron. 2011 Jan 15;26(5):2651-4. Epub 2010 Feb 6.
- Purnell R.F., Schmidt J.J., "Discrimination of single base substitutions in a DNA strand immobilized in a biological nanopore," ACS Nano. 2009 Sep 22;3(9):2533-8.
- Poulous J.L., Jeon T.J., Damoiseaux R., Gillepsie E.J., Bradley K.A., Schmidt J.J., "Ion channel and toxin measurement using a high throughput lipid membrane platform, "Biosens Bioelectron. 2009 Feb 15;24(6):1806-10. Epub 2008 Sep 2.
- Jeon T.J., Poulous J.L., Schmidt J.J., "Long-term storable and shippable lipid bilayer membrane platform," Lab Chip. 2008 ct;8(10):1742-4. Epub 2008 Aug 22.
- Purnell R.F., Mehta K.K., Schmidt J.J., "Nucleotide identification and orientation discrimination of DNA homopolymers immobilized in a protein nanopore," Nano Lett. 2008 Sep;8(9):3029-34. Epub 2008 Aug 13.
- Jeon T.J., Malmstadt N., Poulous J.L., Schmidt J.J., "Black lipid membranes stabilized through substrate conjugation to a hydrogel," Biointerphases. 2008 Jun;3(2)FA96.
- Malmstadt N, Nash M.A., Purnell R.F., Schmidt J.J., "Automated formation of lipid-bilayer membranes in a microfluidic device," Nano Lett. 2006 Sep;6(9):1961-5.
- Brough B., Northrop B.H., Schmidt J.J., Tseng H.R., Houk K.N., Stoddart J.F., Ho C.M., "Evaluation of synthetic linear motor-molecule actuation energetics," Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jun 6;103(23):8583-8. Epub 2006 May 30.
- Jeon T.J., Malmstadt N., Schmidt J.J., "Hydrogel-encapsulated lipid membranes," J Am Chem Soc. 2006 Jan 11;128(1):42-3.
Courses
- Bioengr M106 / Biomed C206: Topics in Biophysics, Channels, and Membranes (Fall Quarter)
- Bioengr 120: Biomedical Transducers
- Bioengr M131 / Biomed C231: Nanopore Sensing (Spring Quarter)
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