Paul Ashby
Staff Scientist, Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures Facility
pdashby@lbl.gov
510-486-7081
Research Interests
My research aims to understand the chemical factors that influence assembly and dynamics of molecular and nanostructured systems. The fruit of this work will be the design and self-assembly of higher utility nanostructures, such as designer proteins, synthetic biological systems, higher efficiency plastic photovoltaic devices, and more powerful and longer lifetime batteries. To this end, I use chemically sensitive interfacial analytical tools such as chemical force spectroscopy.
Current Projects
- Imaging of membrane protein complexation and dynamics with ultrasmall cantilever AFM
- Gentle imaging of soft materials in solution with amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy: Q control and thermal noise
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an indispensable technology for nanoscience due to its versatility and fine resolution. While AFM routinely produces high resolution images of hard materials, imaging of soft materials in solution, such as proteins and other biological structures, remains elusive because tip-sample interaction forces can cause deformation and obscure topographical information. Learn more
- Gentle imaging of soft materials in solution with amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy: Q control and thermal noise
- Water adsorption and structure of initial monolayers on well ordered organic functionalities (collaborators Zhi Liu (ALS), Miquel Salmeron)
- In situ photoelectron spectroscopy study of water adsorption on model biomaterial surfaces
The molecular nature of adsorption at biomaterial surfaces is poorly understood although adsorption of gases, aerosols, and ions and molecules from solution is of fundamental importance at all kind of tissue surfaces. Fundamental questions such as the structure and hydrogen-bonding configuration of water, the chemical binding to the interface, and the extent of water dissociation at a biomaterial surface are largely unknown. Learn more
-G. Ketteler, P. Ashby, B.S. Mun, I. Ratera, H. Bluhm, B. Kasemo and M. Salmeron
- In situ photoelectron spectroscopy study of water adsorption on model biomaterial surfaces
- Solvation of well defined hydrophilic organic interfaces
- Structure of aqueous electrolyte solutions at solid-fluid interfaces (collaborator Alberto Striolo University of Oklahoma)
- Mechanical characterization of nanocrystal superlattices (collaborator Elena Shevchenko ANL)
Selected Publications
- Ashby, P.D., Lieber, C. M. Brownian Force Profile Reconstruction of interfacial 1-nonanol solvent structure, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004, 126, 16973-16980.
- Ashby, P.D., Lieber, C. M. Ultra Sensitive Imaging and Interfacial Analysis of Patterned Hydrophilic SAM Surfaces using Energy Dissipation Chemical Force Microscopy, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 6814-6818.
- Ashby, P.D., Gentle imaging of soft materials in solution with amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy: Q control and thermal noise, Appl. Phys. Lett., 2007, 91, 254102.
- Ketteler, G., Ashby, P., Mun, B.S., Ratera, I., Bluhm, H., Kasemo, B., Salmeron, M., In situ photoelectron spectroscopy study of water adsorption on model biomaterial surfaces, J. Phys. Cond. Mat., 2008, 20, 184024.
Education
B.S., Westmont College
Ph.D, Harvard University, Charles Lieber
“Intermolecular and Interfacial Forces: Elucidating Molecular Mechanisms using Chemical Force Microscopy”
Postdoctoral Fellow Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Miquel Salmeron
