Lawyer Taylor Professor of Material Science and Engineering
and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering
and (by courtesy) Chemistry
Director, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (NU-MRSEC)

BA, physics, 1981 Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
PhD, physics, 1985 Cambridge University

Contact Info

Olvera de La Cruz Group Homepage

Statistics, thermodynamics and dynamics of complex molecular fluids: self assembly and soft matter theory.

Multicomponent mixtures of complex molecules have competing interactions of different length scales which can be used to design a large variety of assemblies with important technological and biomedical applications. Oppositely charged biomolecules, such as polynucleotides and proteins, for example, co-assemble into functional units including nucleosomes and viruses at specific ionic concentrations. The driving force for association of oppositely charged macroions is counterion release and strong ionic correlations upon association.

We analyze co-assemblies of cationic and anionic biological and synthetic molecules and their stability in different ionic media by using a combination of liquid theory and solid state physics techniques. The association of chemically incompatible charged molecules often results in surface charge heterogeneities which lead to hierarchical organizations via charge polarizability. Surface composition heterogeneities are a result of the competition of electrostatic interactions, which favor mixing of opposite charges, and specific interactions and packing constraints which favor segregation of the components.

We analyze the physical properties of mixtures of cationic and anionic amphiphiles co-assembled into lipid membranes, vesicles and cylindrical micelles. We also analyze surface patterns induced by the adsorption or confinement of self-attracting charged biomolecules onto oppositely charged flat and curved surfaces, such as cationic proteins onto actin, and determine the attraction mechanism among surfaces with charge heterogeneities.

We also investigate the thermodynamics, statistics and dynamics of multicomponent mixtures of neutral molecues. In particular, we analyze immiscible molecular fluids including interface adsorption of minority components and phase segregation kinetics. In solutions containing copolymers, for example, the interface adsorption is enhanced and a large variety of structures with unique applications including inverted micelles for drug delivery are obtained.

Associations and Awards

• National Academy of Sciences Member, 2012
• National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship, 2010-2015
• Chair, Condensed Matter and Materials Committee, National Research Council, 2010-12
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow, 2010
• Member, National Research Council Board of Physics and Astronomy
• Chair, Advisory Committee, NSF Division of Materials Research, 2007-09
• Vice-chair Solid Sate Science Committee, National Research Council, 2008-10
• Editorial Board of Macromolecules  
  
• Engineering and Applied Sciences Cozzarelli Prize, Proceeding of the National Academies, National Academies, 2007
• Research at the Intersection of Physical and Life Sciences Committee, National Research Council, National Academies, 2007-09  
• Solid State Science Committee, National Research Council, 2006-09
• Advisory Committee, NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, 2005-09
• Editorial Board of the Journal of Polymer Science B: Polymer Physics, 2000-06
• Baetjer Lecturer, Princeton University, 2005
• NSF Role of Theory in Biological Physics and Materials, organizer & speaker, 2004
• Scientific Visitor, Service de Physique Théorique, CE-SACLAY, France, 2003
• Fellow of the American Physical Society, 2001
• NSF Opportunities in Materials Theory, speaker, 2000
• Scientific Member, Commissariat a l’Énergie Atomique (CE-SACLAY), 1995-97
• Scientific Member, Commissariat a l’Énergie Atomique (CE-SACLAY), 1995-97
• NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award, 1990–95
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, 1990–92
• David and Lucille Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, 1989–94
• National Institutes of Health FIRST Award, 1988–93

Selected Publications

G. Vernizzi, R. Sknepnek, and M. Olvera de la Cruz "Platonic and Archimedean geometries in multi-component elastic membranes" (February 28, 2011) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.1012872108.

F. J. Solis, G. Vernizzi and M. Olvera de la Cruz "Electrostatic driven pattern formation in fibers, nanotubes and pores "Soft Matter 7, 1456-1466, 2011 (DOI:10.1039/C0SM00706D).

David A. Walker, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Monica Olvera de la Cruz and Bartosz A. Grzybowski "Electrostatics at the Nanoscale" Nanoscale (2010) (DOI: 10.1039/C0NR00698J).

M. Donakowski, J. Godbe, R. Sknepnek, K. Knowles, M. Olvera de la Cruz, and E. Weiss, "A Quantitative Description of the Binding Equilibria of para-Substituted Aniline Ligands and CdSe Quantum Dots" J. Phys. Chem. C 114, 22526-22534 (2010) (DOI: 10.1021/jp109381r).

Jos W. Zwanikken and Monica Olvera de la Cruz "Correlated electrolyte solutions and ion-induced attractions between Nanoparticles" Phys. Rev. E 82, 050401(R) (2010).

Kuo-An Wu, Prateek K. Jha, and Monica Olvera de la Cruz " Control of Nanophases in Polyelectrolyte Gels by Salt Addition" Macromolecules 43, 9160-9167 (2010) (DOI: 10.1021/ma101726v).

Prateek K. Jha, Rastko Sknepnek, Guillermo Ivan Guerrero-Garcia, and Monica Olvera de de la Cruz "A Graphics Processing Unit Implementation of Coulomb Interaction in Molecular Dynamics" J. Chem. Theory Comput. 6, 3058-3065 (2010).

Shuming Zhang, Megan A. Greenfield, Alvaro Mata, Liam C. Palmer, Ronit Bitton, Jason R. Mantei, Conrado Aparicio, Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Samuel I. Stupp  "A Self-Assembly Pathway to Aligned Monodomain Gels" Nature Materials 9, 594-601 (2010).

Guillermo Ivan Guerrero-Garcia, Enrique Gonzalez-Tovar, and Monica Olvera de la Cruz "Effectss of Ionic-size Asymmetry around a Charged Nano-particle: Unequal Charge Neutralization and Electrostatic Screening" Soft Matter  6, 2056-65 (2010).

Mario Tagliazucchi, Monica Olvera de la Cruz and Igal Szleifer "Self-organization of grafted polyelectrolyte layers via the coupling of chemical equilibrium and physical interactions" PNAS 107, 5300-5305  (2010).

W. Kung, P. Gonzalez-Mozuelos, and M. Olvera de la Cruz, “Nanoparticles in Aqueous Media: Crystallization and Solvation Charge Asymmetry” Soft Matter 6, 331 – 341 (2010).

De-Wei Yin, M. Olvera de la Cruz and Juan J. de Pablo “Swelling and Collapse of Polyelectrolyte Gels in Equilibrium in Monovalent and Divalent Electrolyte Reservoirs” J. Chem Phys. 131, 194907 (2009).

K.L. Kohlstedt, G.Vernizzi and M. Olvera de la Cruz “Electrostatics and Optimal Arrangement of Ionic Triangular Lattices Confined to Cylindrical Fibers" Phys. Rev. E 80, 051503 (2009).

M. A. Greenfield, L. C. Palmer, G. Vernizzi, M. Olvera de la Cruz, and S. I. Stupp “Buckled Membranes in Mixed-Valence Ionic Amphiphile Vesicles” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131,  12030–12031 (2009).