Emrick Research Group

Todd Emrick
Todd Emrick

Professor

Researching synthetic organic/polymer chemistry, functionalization of nanoscale and 2-D materials, aqueous polymer assembly and the preparation of polymer-based therapeutics.
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Research

Research focus.  My group’s work in synthetic polymer chemistry includes the preparation of new monomers, polymers, and nanocomposite structures, and cuts across application areas of biomolecular materials, electronic materials and devices, and interface modification and stabilization.  Recognizing that many pressing needs in materials science and engineering cannot be satisfied with commercially available “off-the-shelf” polymers, we strive to discover functional polymers that open exciting opportunities in soft materials science.  Some materials chemistry advances made by my group include new types of polymer interlayers in electronic materials and devices (Science 2014, Angew Chem 2019, and ACS Nano 2021), functional polymers that produce “smart droplets” and “adhesive fluids” (Advanced Functional Materials 2019 and J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021), and methods for preparing a wide range of novel and unconventional polymer zwitterions (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021 and ACS MacroLetters 2021). We enjoy working simultaneously along several segments of synthetic chemistry which altogether imparts a collaborative spirit to our group and its activities.

You can follow us on Twitter @Emrickgroup and freely reach out to me at @email.

Examples of @Emrickgroup research

Advanced Functional Materials

Smart droplets and approaches to self-healing.  In one example of current research, we are designing functional hydrophilic and amphiphilic polymers that segregate to fluid-fluid interfaces, stabilize emulsion droplets, and bring useful functional properties to droplets.  Several years ago, inspired by theoretical work of Anna Balazs (U Pittsburgh), we developed a preparation of emulsion droplets that successfully deliver reagents to substrates, and in particular to damaged areas of substrates to promote mechanical healing.  This research has since evolved to produce a rich array of smart droplets, typically stabilized by polymer zwitterions in which additional useful functionality is integrated into the backbone.  Recently, as shown in the accompanying cover art, we prepared new types of polymer-stabilized droplets that proved amenable to picking up particles from pristine (undamaged) regions of substrates, carrying the particles temporarily, and then depositing the particles into the damaged regions of the same substrate (Advanced Functional Materials, 2019).  This “clean-and-repair” concept, inspired by Nature’s ability to use cell surfaces to probe and repair wound sites in vivo, requires tailoring the properties of all relevant interfaces: substrate/droplet, particle/substrate, particle/droplet, and fluid/fluid.  In the process of this research, we learn how to simplify the complex chemistry and biology of living systems, using new synthetic polymers and attention to interfacial energies.

Polymer zwitterions as biomaterials and in therapeutics

Polymer zwitterions as biomaterials and in therapeutics.  For several years, we have been building the chemistry of polymer zwitterions in new directions, with objectives to produce advanced biomaterials and polymer scaffolds that enable improved drug delivery in vivo. Recognizing the importance of phosphorylcholine (PC)-containing methacrylate polymers (such as pioneered by Ishihara and coworkers), we have constructed a platform of “PC-polymers”, ranging from polyolefins to polyesters to methacrylate derivatives.  A particularly exciting opportunity is found in the “reverse PC” or choline phosphate polymers, which we find to be amenable to direct incorporation of useful, reactive functionality for bioconjugation, drug attachment, and cross-linking chemistry (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016).  Early on, our group recognized the potential to use polymer zwitterions as “PEG-replacements” in therapeutics, and have produced numerous examples of polymer-drug conjugates using polymer zwitterions, including with the chemotherapeutics doxorubicin, camptothecin, and temozolomide (TMZ) (our recent TMZ example is described in ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2018).  At the same time, we have studied new types of polymer chemistry and architecture for DNA complexation and delivery, as described in a recently published article (WIREs Nanomedicine 2019) that we co-authored with our collaborator Marxa Figueiredo (Purdue). 

Conjugated polymer zwitterions (CPZs) for electronic materials & devices

Conjugated polymer zwitterions (CPZs) for electronic materials & devices.  Combining zwitterionic functionality with p-conjugated polymers has yielded a library of new structures that prove impressively useful as interlayer materials in devices such as solar cells.  Our initial curiosity as to the properties of conjugated polymers containing zwitterionic pendent groups led to numerous findings, including the impact of CPZs on the work function of metals with which they come into contact and the unique solubility of CPZs that allows for integration of clean CPZ interlayers at the electrode-active layer interface of solar cells (e.g., Science 2014 and ACS Central Science 2018).  These two features, coupled with CPZ facilitation of charge transport even for relatively thick interlayers (50 nm or greater), make CPZs exceptionally useful for any of a variety of (opto)electronic materials and devices.  We are now finding CPZs, and more generally polymer zwitterions, to produce similarly interesting effects on 2D materials such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and graphene (ACS Nano, 2018), opening yet another avenue for polymer zwitterions in conjunction with electronic materials. 

People

Back row (l-to-r) Todd Emrick, Dr. Zhefei Yang, Dr. Jianxun Cui, Krishna Murthy, Conny Meissner, Sydni Wilson, Jordan Varma, Eva Morgenthaler, Grace Leone, Marcel Brown, Carla Steppan Front row (l-to-r) James Pagaduan, Deborah Cassaro-Snyder, Hong-Gyu Seong, Le Zhou, Brian Montz, Chris Cueto
Back row (l-to-r) Todd Emrick, Dr. Zhefei Yang, Dr. Jianxun Cui, Krishna Murthy, Conny Meissner, Sydni Wilson, Jordan Varma, Eva Morgenthaler, Grace Leone, Marcel Brown, Carla Steppan Front row (l-to-r) James Pagaduan, Deborah Cassaro-Snyder, Hong-Gyu Seong, Le Zhou, Brian Montz, Chris Cueto

Awards

  • 2016 College of Natural Sciences Outstanding Research Award, University of Massachusetts
  • 2016 Elected to the 2016 class of POLY Fellows of the American Chemical Society
  • 2015 Carl S. Marvel Creative Polymer Chemistry Award, American Chemical Society
  • 2014 Selected as a member of the 2014 class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society
  • 2013 Selected to the National Academy of Inventors
  • 2013 Landmark Award, Commercial Ventures in Intellectual Property University of Massachusetts (10th awarded patent)
  • 2013 Elected to the 2013 Class of PMSE Fellows of the American Chemical Society
  • 2011 Chair, Macromolecular Materials Gordon Research Conference, Ventura CA
  • 2011 Chair, Polymeric Materials Science & Engineering (PMSE) Division of the ACS
  • 2010 Keynote Speaker, Bayer Material Science Innovation Technology Symposium, Pittsburgh, PA
  • 2010 Milestone Award, Commercial Ventures in Intellectual Property, University of Massachusetts (5th awarded patent)
  • 2009 Featured speaker, Hybrid Materials 2009, Tours, France
  • 2006 Arthur K. Doolittle Award, Polymer Materials Science & Engineering (PMSE) Division of the American Chemical Society
  • 2005 Juniata College Young Alumni Achievement Award
  • 2004 Technology Development Award, Persident's Office, University of Massachusetts
  • 2003 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
  • 2003 NSF travel award: CERC-3 Conference in Gotenborg, Sweden
  • 2003 Selected as a U.S. representative to the U.S.-German Polymer Symposium, Bayreuth, Germany
  • 2002 Center for UMass-Industry Research on Polymers (CUMIRP): Exploratory Research Award
  • 2001 Omnova, Inc. Signature Young Faculty Award

Support Funding

  • The support of a number of agencies and corporations has been critically important to the research efforts:

    The National Institute of Health - R21
    The National Science Foundation (CHE, CBET, DMR-BMAT)
    The NSF-Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Polymers at UMass (DMR-0820506)
    The Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences
    The PHaSE Energy Frontier Research Center at UMass
    Army Research Office
    The Federal Aviation Administration
    BASF

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Publications

(274 Peer-Reviewed; H-Index = 54)

Most Cited Papers (Top 10)

1. Balazs, A.C.; Emrick, T.; Russell, T.P. “Nanoparticle-polymer Composites: Where Two Small Worlds Meet” Science, 2006, 314, 1107-1110. (1760 citations)

2. Lin, Y.; Boker, A.; He, J.B.; Sill, K.; Xiang, H.Q.; Abetz, C.; Li, X.F.; Wang, J.; Emrick, T.; Long, S.; Wang, Q.; Balas, A.; Russell, T.P. “Self-directed Self-assembly of Nanoparticle/copolymer Mixtures” Nature 2005, 434, 55-59. (800 citations)

3. Lin, Y.; Skaff, H.; Emrick, T.; Dinsmore, A.D.; Russell, T.P. “Nanoparticle Assembly and Transport at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces” Science 2003, 299, 226-229. (781 citations)

4. Parrish, B.; Breitenkamp, R.B.; Emrick, T. “PEG and Peptide-grafted Aliphatic Polyesters by Click Chemistry” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 7404-7410. (502 citations)

5. Boeker, A.; He, J.; Emrick, T.; Russell, T. P. Self-assembly of nanoparticles at interfaces. Soft Matter 2007, 3 (10), 1231-1248. DOI: 10.1039/b706609k.  (406 citations)

6. Huang, J; Juskiewicz, M; de Jeu, WH; Cerda, E; Emrick, T; Menon, N; Russell, T.P. “Capillary wrinkling of floating thin polymer films” Science 2007, 317, 650-653. (333 citations)

7. Boeker, A.; Lin, T.; Chiapperini, K.; Horowitz, R.; Thompson, M.; Carreon, V.; Xu, T.; Abetz, C.; Skaff, H.; Dinsmore, A.D.; Emrick, T.; Russell, T.P. “Hierarchical Nanoparticle Assemblies Formed by Decorating Breath Figures” Nature Materials  2004, 3, 302-306. (294 citations)

8. Zhang, Q., Cirpan, A., Russell, T.P., Emrick, T.. "Donor-Acceptor Poly(thiophene-block-perylene diimide) Copolymers: Synthesis and Solar Cell Fabrication" Macromolecules. 2009, 42, 1079-1082. (272 citations)

9. Gupta, S.; Zhang, Q. L.; Emrick, T.; Balazs, A. C.; Russell, T. P. Entropy-driven segregation of nanoparticles to cracks in multilayered composite polymer structures. Nature Materials 2006, 5 (3), 229-233. DOI: 10.1038/nmat1582. (245 citations)

10. Hong, R.; Fisher, N.O.; Verma, A.; Goodman, C.M.; Emrick, T.; Rotello, V.M. “Control of Protein Structure and Function through Surface Recognition by Tailored Nanoparticle Scaffolds” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 739-743.  (241 citations)

11. Emrick, T.; Chang, H-T.; Fréchet, J.M.J.  "An A2 + B3 Approach to Hyperbranched Aliphatic Polyethers Containing Chain End Epoxy Substituents"  Macromolecules 1999, 32, 6380. (235 citations)