Enhanced Hydrogen Bonding by Urea Functionalization Tunes the Stability and Biological Properties of Peptide Amphiphiles
Huihua Xing, Caleb Wigham, Sieun Ruth Lee, Aramis J Pereira, Luana J de Campos, Agustín S Picco, Cristián Huck-Iriart, Carlos Escudero, Laura Perez-Chirinos, Sandun Gajaweera, Jeffrey Comer, Ivan R Sasselli, Samuel I Stupp, R Helen Zha, Martin Conda-Sheridan. Biomacromolecules. 2024 (in press). DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c01463
Production and secretion of recombinant spider silk in bacillus megaterium
Alexander J. Connor, R. Helen Zha*, Mattheos Koffas*. Microbial Cell Factories. 2024 23, 35. DOI: 10.1186/s12934-024-02304-5
One-Pot Assembly of Drug-Eluting Silk Coatings with Applications for Nerve Regeneration
Tanner D. Fink, Jessical L. Funnell, Ryan J. Gilbert, R Helen Zha*. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. 2024 10, 482-496. DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c01042
Two-step conversion of polyethylene into recombinant proteins using a microbial platform
Alexander J. Connor, Jessica V. Lamb, Massimiliano Delferro, Mattheos Koffas*, R Helen Zha*. Microbial Cell Factories. 2023 22, 214. DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02220-0
Silk fibroin production in Escherichia coli is limited by a positive feedback loop between metabolic burden and toxicity stresS
Zhengyang Ziao, Alexander J. Connor, Alyssa M. Worland, Yingjie J. Tang, R. Helen Zha*, Mattheos Koffas*. Metabolic Engineering. 2023 77, 231-241. DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.03.011
Novel insights into construct toxicity, strain optimization, and primary sequence design for producing recombinant silk fibroin and elastin-like peptide in E. coli
Alexander Connor, Caleb Wigham, Yang Bai, Manish Rai, Sebastian Nassif, Mattheos Koffas*, R. Helen Zha*. Metabolic Engineering Communications. 2023 16, e00219. DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2023.e00219
Electrospun fiber-mediated delivery of neurotrophin-3 mRNA for neural tissue engineering applications
Devan L. Puhl, Jessica L. Funnel, Tanner D. Fink, Anuj Swaminathan, Martin Oudega, R. Helen Zha, Ryan J.Gilbert*. Acta Biomaterialia. 2022 155, 370-385. DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.11.025
Virucidal N95 Respirator Face Masks via Ultrathin Surface-Grafted Quaternary Ammonium Polymer Coatings
Mirco Sorci, Tanner D. Fink, Vaishali Sharma, Sneha Singh, Ruiwen Chen, Brigitte L. Arduini, Katharine Dovidenko, Caryn L. Heldt, Edmund F. Palermo*, R. Helen Zha*. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2022 14, 25135-25146. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c04165
Bioproduction of biomacromolecules for antiviral applications
Alexander J. Connor, R. Helen Zha, Mattheos Koffas*. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 2021 69, 263-272. DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.01.022
Rapid Synthesis of Silk-Like Polymers Facilitated by Microwave Irradiation and Click Chemistry
Amrita Sarkar, Cody Edson, Ding Tian, Tanner D. Fink, Katherine Cianciotti, Richard A. Gross, Chulsung Bae, and R. Helen Zha*. Biomacromolecules. 2021 22, 95-105.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.0c00563
Coating Topologically Complex Electrospun Fibers with Nano-Thin Silk Fibroin Enhances Neurite Outgrowth In Vitro
Alexis Ziemba, Tanner Fink, Mary Clare Crochiere, Devan Puhl, Samichya Sapkota, Ryan Gilbert*, R. Helen Zha*. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. 2020 6 (3), 1321-1332.
DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.9b01487
Self-Assembly Assisted Kinetically Controlled Papain Catalyzed Formation of mPEG-b-Phe(Leu)x
Robert Centore, Filbert Totsingan, Anna-Christina Amason, Samantha Lyons, R Helen Zha, Richard A Gross*. Biomacromolecules. 2019 21 (2), 493-507.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.9b01237
Chemical Synthesis of Silk-Mimetic Polymers
Amrita Sarkar, Alexander J. Connor, Mattheos Koffas, R. Helen Zha*. Materials. 2019 12 (24), 4086. DOI: 10.3390/ma12244086
Mechanical Enhancement of Bioinspired Polydopamine Nanocoatings
Katerina G. Malollari, Peyman Delparastan, Caroline Sobek, Shraddha J. Vachhani, Tanner D. Fink, R. Helen Zha, Phillip B. Messersmith*. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2019 11 (46), 43599-43607. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b15740
Universal Nanothin Silk Coatings via Controlled Spidroin Self-Assembly
R. Helen Zha*, Peyman Delparastan, Tanner D. Fink, Joschka Bauer, Thomas Scheibel, and Phillip B. Messersmith. Biomaterials Science 2019 7 (2), 683-695. (2019 Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigators Issue). DOI: 10.1039/C8BM01186A
Silk and Silk-Like Supramolecular Materials
Tanner D. Fink and R. Helen Zha*. Macromolecular Rapid Communications 2018 39 (17), 1700834. DOI: 10.1002/marc.201700834
Other Publications
NJ Van Zee, B Adelizzi, MFJ Mabesoone, X Meng, A Aloi, RH Zha, M Lutz, IAW Filot, ARA Palmans, and EW Meijer*. Potential enthalpic energy of water in oils exploited to control supramolecular structure. Nature 2018 558, 100-103. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0169-0
RH Zha, G Vantomme, JA Berrocal, R Gosens, B de Waal, S Meskers, and EW Meijer*. Photoswitchable nanomaterials fased on hierarchically organized siloxane oligomers. Advanced Functional Materials 2017 28 (1) 1703952. DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201703952
JA Berrocal, RH Zha, BFM de Waal, JAM Lugger, M Lutz, and EW Meijer*. Unraveling the driving forces in the self-assembly of monodisperse naphthalenediimide-oligodimethylsiloxane block molecules. ACS Nano 2017 11 (4), 3733-3741. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6b08380
AT Haedler, SCJ Meskers, RH Zha, M Kivala, H-W Schmidt, and EW Meijer*. Pathway complexity in the enantioselective self-assembly of functional carbonyl-bridged triarylamine trisamides. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2016 138 (33), 10539-10545. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b05184
AV Gorbunov, AT Haedler, T Putzeys, RH Zha, H-W Schmidt, M Kivala, I Urbanavičiu̅tė, M Wübbenhorst, EW Meijer, and M Kemerink*. Switchable charge injection barrier in an organic supramolecular semiconductor. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2016 8 (24), 15535-15542. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b02988
RH Zha, BFM de Waal, M Lutz, AJP Teunissen, and EW Meijer*. End groups of functionalized siloxane oligomers direct block-copolymeric or liquid-crystaline self-assembly behavior. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2016 138 (17), 5693-5698. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b02172
H Minehara, LM Pitet, S Kim, RH Zha, EW Meijer, and CJ Hawker*. Branched block copolymers for tuning of morphology and feature size in thin film nanolithography. Macromolecules 2016 49 (6), 2318-2326. DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.5b02649
RH Zha, YS Velichko, R Bitton, and SI Stupp*. Molecular design for growth of supramolecular membranes with hierarchical structure. Soft Matter 2016 12 (5), 1401-1410. DOI: 10.1039/C5SM02381E
RH Zha, S Sur, J Boekhoven, HY Shi, M Zhang, and SI Stupp*. Supramolecular assembly of multifunctional maspin-mimetic nanostructures as a potent peptide-based angiogenesis inhibitor. Acta Biomaterialia 2015 12, 1-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2014.11.001
J Boekhoven, RH Zha, F Tantakitti, E Zhuang, R Zandi, CJ Newcomb, and SI Stupp*. Alginate–peptide amphiphile core–shell microparticles as a targeted drug delivery system. RSC Advances 2015 5 (12), 8753-8756. DOI: 10.1039/C4RA16593D
R Bitton, LW Chow, RH Zha, YS Velichko, ET Pashuck, and SI Stupp*. Electrostatic control of structure in self‐assembled membranes. Small 2014 10 (3), 500-505. DOI: 10.1002/smll.201300254
SI Stupp*, RH Zha, LC Palmer, H Cui, and R Bitton. Self-assembly of biomolecular soft matter. Faraday Discussions 2013 166, 9-30. DOI: 10.1039/C3FD00120B
RH Zha, S Sur, and SI Stupp*. Self‐assembly of cytotoxic peptide amphiphiles into supramolecular membranes for cancer therapy. Advanced Healthcare Materials 2013 2 (1), 126-133. DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201200118
JB Matson, RH Zha, SI Stupp*. Peptide self-assembly for crafting functional biological materials. Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science 2011 15 (6), 225-235. DOI: 10.1016/j.cossms.2011.08.001
Patents and Patent Applications
HR Doss, TM Przybycien, RH Zha. Systems for facile viral clearance validation through the development of fluorescent viral surrogates. Patent application 18/388,130. November 8, 2023.
RJ Gilbert, D Puhl, J Funnell, TD Fink, RH Zha. Functionalized fiber networks utilizing mRNA-releasing topographical guidance cues for nerve regeneration. Patent application PCT/US23/18154. April 11, 2023.
AJ Connor, MAG Koffas, D. Nelson, RH Zha. Systems and methods for increased production of recombinant biopolymers via genome engineering and downregulation of basal expression. Patent application 63/419,110. October 25, 2022.
AJ Connor, MAG Koffas, RH Zha. Upcycling of Plastic Waste to Recombinant Silk Proteins via Pseudomonas Bacteria. Patent application 63/310,635. February 16, 2022.
RH Zha, TD Fink, C Wigham. Methods for generating surface coatings via self-assembly of silk fibroin and silk fibroin-like macromolecules. Patent application 63/074,555. September 2020
RH Zha, M Zhang, and SI Stupp. Anti-angiogenic molecules, nanostructures and uses thereof. US Patent 9556232. January 2017
RH Zha, M Zhang, and SI Stupp. Anti-angiogenic molecules, nanostructures and uses thereof. US Patent 9169294. October 2015