THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN • COCKRELL SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING. DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Johnston, Keith P. Ph.D.

M. C. (Bud) and Mary Beth Baird Endowed Chair and Professor of Chemical Engineering, Paul D. & Betty Robertson Meek & American Petrofina Fdn. Centennial Professorship in Chemical Engineering

Research Areas: Advanced Materials, Polymers & Nanotechnology,                      Biotechnology, Energy and Environmental Engineering

Research Presentation for Prospective Graduate Students

Educational Qualifications

Ph.D., University of Illinois (1981)
B.S., University of Michigan (1977)

Research

Colloid and Interface Science, Materials Chemistry, Nanocomposite Materials

We utilize fundamental concepts in colloid and interface science and materials chemistry to design, synthesize and characterize nanocomposite materials for biomedical, pharmaceutical and energy applications.

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology

Imaging and Therapeutics for Atherosclerosis and Cancer

Drug Delivery: Proteins and Poorly Water Soluble Drugs

Nanotechnology for Energy: Fundamentals and Applications

Mesoporous Nanocomposites for Catalysis and Energy Storage: Supercapacitors, Batteries and Fuel Cells

Enhanced Oil Recovery, Imaging and CO2 Sequestration

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology

Magnetic/Optical Nanocrystals for Imaging and Therapy in Atherosclerosis and Cancer

The ability of small nanoparticles to target and modulate the biology of specific types of cells will enable major advancements in cellular imaging and therapy in cancer and atherosclerosis.  When the nanoparticle diameters are reduced to 20 to 50 nm, the biological pathways in targeted cells can undergo profound changes. A key challenge is to pack sufficient functionality into extremely small, yet stable, particles to provide targeting, imaging, and therapy.  We have recently produced ~30 nm nanoclusters composed of superparamagnetic iron oxide primary particles with thin gold shells that display intense near infrared (NIR) absorbance and magnetic relaxivity.  Strategies are being developed to combine drug delivery with imaging to apply chemotherapy more efficiently with lower dosages.  These projects involve collaboration with Thomas Milner, Stanislav Emelianov and Konstantin Sokolov in Biomedical Engineering at UT, Marc Feldman, a cardiologist at UTHSC in San Antonio and Rajagopal Ramest and Jack Roth at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. We are investigating a variety of imaging techniques including magnetomotive ultrasound, optical coherence tomography, MRI imaging, and photoacoustic imaging that will enable earlier cancer detection at lower cost.

Iron oxide-gold nanoparticles with strong NIR absorbance and magnetic relaxivity for biomedical imaging and drug delivery.  Hyperspectral microscopy is used to image the optical properties within cells.

Protein Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery

The objective is to design protein particles, including monoclonal antibodies, for drug delivery with bioerodible microspheres, highly concentrated formulations for subcutaneous injection and pulmonary administration. Protein nanocrystals with unusually high stability are being formed with novel spray freezing and thin film freezing processes, by minimizing the time of exposure of protein to air-water and ice-water interfaces.  The ability to control the release without the need for daily injections is of paramount importance in the commercialization of the large number of newly discovered therapeutic peptides and proteins.

Nanotechnology for Energy: Fundamentals and Applications

High Rate, Hierarchically Ordered Mesoporous Carbon/Metal Oxide Supercapacitors

Fundamental mechanisms of charge transfer and transport are being studied experimentally and theoretically in mesoporous carbon-metal oxide electrochemical capacitors (or supercapacitors) with three-dimensional structures organized with block copolymer surfactants. The resulting nanocomposite materials show hierarchical ordering over several discrete and tunable length scales ranging from 3-10 nm mesopores and metal oxide films to several micrometers. Controlled growth of the thickness, porosity and crystallinity of conformal, redox-active materials (metal oxides) on conductive graphitic mesoporous carbon with high surface areas will facilitate high rate, high power energy storage.  There are many practical applications including transportation, and load leveling in wind energy and smart electrical grids.

MnO2 nanoparticles grown within conductive mesoporous carbon for high energy and power density supercapacitors

Highly active and stable catalysts by infusion of presynthesized

nanoparticles into mesoporous materials

CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery and Sequestration

Novel surfactants and nanoparticles are being designed to form highly concentrated carbon dioxide in water foams for enhanced oil recovery, and the rheological properties in porous media are being described in terms of the interfacial properties, surfactant structure and the foam texture. These foams are of great interest in CO2 enhanced oil recovery to improve the sweep efficiency of the reservoir.   The emulsion texture, stability and rheology are being investigated in terms of the interfacial properties, phase behavior and the molecular structure of the surfactant or morphology of the nanoparticles.

Design of surfactants and nanoparticles for formation of emulsions and foams for enhanced oil recovery and for CO2 sequestration

Determination of Oil Saturation in Reservoir Rock using Magnetic Nanoparticles

Accurate determination of oil saturation distribution in laboratory cores and oil reservoirs will great improve enhanced oil recovery (and also CO2 sequestration).  We propose to inject magnetic nanoparticles that partition at oil/water interfaces and to generate electromagnetic fields with these particles for imaging these interfaces.  The surface properties of the nanoparticles are being designed to influence their interfacial activity.

Transport of Nanoparticles in Porous Media

This project supported by the Advanced Energy Consortium (AEC) seeks to establish the characteristics of nanoparticles that allow them to be transported arbitrarily far into a sedimentary rock containing two (or more) immiscible fluids.  The goal is to support a primary objective of the AEC, namely, to develop sensors to illuminate hydrocarbon reservoirs. Nanostructures that migrate with injected fluids into the formation might be able to play this role — but only if they can propagate tens to hundreds of meters through carbonate and sandstone rocks that contain aqueous and hydrocarbon phases.  We are investigating the kinetics and thermodynamics of adsorption of nanoparticles into well defined model porous materials to provide a fundamental understanding relevant for understanding the behavior in complex rock formation.

Awards & Honors

Designated as one of the 100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era, Centennial of Am. Inst. Chem. Engr. (2008)
Institute Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2004)
Industrial Gas Award, Am. Inst. Chemical Engineers (2004)
Discover Magazine Awards for Technological Innovation Finalist (2001)
University of Texas Engineering Foundation Faculty Excellence Award (1990), (1995)
Allan P. Colburn Award, Am. Inst. Chemical Engineers (1990)
Allan  P. Colburn Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (1990)
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher/Scholar (1987)

Selected Publications

• Vaughn, J. M.; Gao, X.; Yacaman, M.-J.; Johnston, K. P.; Williams, R. O., Comparison of powder produced by evaporative precipitation into aqueous solution (EPAS) and spray freezing into liquid (SFL) technologies using novel Z-contrast STEM and complimentary techniques. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 60, (1), 81-89 (2005).
• Leach, W. T.; Simpson, D. T.; Val, T. N.; Anuta, E. C.; Yu, Z.; III, R. O. W.; Johnston, K. P., Uniform Encapsulation of Stable Protein Nanoparticles Produced by Spray Freezing for the Reduction of Burst Release. J. Pharm. Sci., 94, (1), 56-69 (2005)
• McConville, J. T.; Overhoff, K. A.; Sinswat, P.; Vaughn, J. M.; Frei, B. L.; Burgess, D. S.; Talbert, R. L.; Peters, J. I.; Johnston, K. P.; Williams, R. O., III, Targeted High Lung Concentrations of Itraconazole Using Nebulized Dispersions in a Murine Model. Pharmaceutical Research, 23, (5), 901-911 (2006)
• Overhoff, K. A.; Engstrom, J. D.; Chen, B.; Scherzer, B. D.; Milner, T. E.; Johnston, K. P.; Williams, R. O., Novel ultra-rapid freezing particle engineering process for enhancement of dissolution rates of poorly water-soluble drugs. Eur. J. Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 65, (1), 57-67 (2007)
• Matteucci, M. E.; Brettmann, B. K.; Rogers, T. L.; Elder, E. J.; Williams, R. O.; Johnston, K. P., Design of Potent Amorphous Drug Nanoparticles for Rapid Generation of Highly Supersaturated Media. Molec. Pharmaceutics, 4, (5), 782-793 (2007)
• Engstrom, J. D.; Simpson, D. T.; Lai, E. S.; Williams, R. O.; Johnston, K. P., Morphology of protein particles produced by spray freezing of concentrated solutions. Eur. J.  Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 65, (2), 149-162 (2007)
• Crisp, M. T.; Tucker, C. J.; Rogers, T. L.; Williams, R. O.; Johnston, K. P., Turbidimetric measurement and prediction of dissolution rates of poorly soluble drug nanocrystals. Journal of Controlled Release, 117, (3), 351-359 (2007)
• Tam, J. M.; McConville, J. T.; Williams, R. O.; Johnston, K. P., Amorphous Cyclosporin Nanodispersions for Enhanced Pulmonary Deposition and Dissolution. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 97, (11), 4915-4933 (2008)
• Shah, J.; Park, S.; Aglyamov, S.; Larson, T.; Ma, L.; Sokolov, K.; Johnston, K.; Milner, T.; Emelianov, S., Photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging to guide photothermal therapy: ex vivo study. Proc. SPIE, 6856, (Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing 2008: the Ninth Conference on Biomedical Thermoacoustics, Optoacoustics, and Acousto-Optics, 68560U/1-68560U/7 (2008)
• Matteucci, M. E.; Paguio, J. C.; Miller, M. A.; Williams, R. O., III; Johnston, K. P., Flocculated Amorphous Nanoparticles for Highly Supersaturated Solutions. Pharmaceutical Research, 25, (11), 2477-2487 (2008).
• Matteucci, M. E.; Paguio, J. C.; Miller, M. A.; Williams, R. O.; Johnston, K. P., Highly Supersaturated Solutions from Dissolution of Amorphous Itraconazole Microparticles at pH 6.8. Molecular Pharmaceutics, submitted (2008).
• Matteucci, M. E.; Miller, M. A.; Williams, R. O.; Johnston, K. P., Highly Supersaturated Solutions of Amorphous Drugs Approaching Predictions from Configurational Thermodynamic Properties. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 112, (51), 16675-16681 (2008).
• Engstrom, J. D.; Tam, J. M.; Miller, M. A.; Williams, R. O.; Johnston, K. P., Templated open flocs of nanorods for enhanced pulmonary delivery with pressurized metered dose inhalers J. Pharm. Sci., submitted (2008).
• Engstrom, J. D.; Lai, E. S.; Ludher, B. S.; Chen, B.; Milner, T. E.; Williams, R. O., III; Kitto, G. B.; Johnston, K. P., Formation of Stable Submicron Protein Particles by Thin Film Freezing. Pharm. Res., 25, (6), 1334-1346 (2008).

Energy References

• Johnston, K. P.; Harrison, K. L.; Clarke, M. J.; Howdle, S. M.; Heitz, M. P.; Bright, F. V.; Carlier, C.; Randolph, T. W., Water-in-Carbon Dioxide Microemulsions: A New Environment for Hydrophiles Including Proteins. Science, 271, 624 (1996).
• Holmes, J. D.; Johnston, K. P.; Doty, R. C.; Korgel, B. A., Control of Thickness and Orientation of Solution-Grown Silicon Nanowires. Science, 287, (5457), 1471-1473 (2000).
• Shah, P. S.; Hanrath, T.; Johnston, K. P.; Korgel, B. A., Nanocrystal and Nanowire Synthesis and Dispersibility in Supercritical Fluids. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 108, (28), 9574-9587 (2004).
• Johnston, K. P.; Shah, P. S., Making Nanoscale Materials with Supercritical Fluids. Science, 303, ((5657)), 482-483 (2004).
• Ryoo, W.; Dickson, J. L.; Dhanuka, V. V.; Webber, S. E.; Bonnecaze, R. T.; Johnston, K. P., Electrostatic Stabilization of Colloids in Carbon Dioxide: Electrophoresis and Dielectrophoresis. Langmuir, 21, 5914-5923 (2005).
• Lu, X.; Fanfair, D. D.; Johnston, K. P.; Korgel, B. A., High Yield Solution-Liquid-Solid Synthesis of Germanium Nanowires. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 127, (45), 15718-15719 (2005).
• Gupta, G.; Shah, P. S.; Zhang, X.; Saunders, A. E.; Korgel, B. A.; Johnston, K. P., Enhanced Infusion of Gold Nanocrystals into Mesoporous Silica with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide. Chemistry of Materials, 17, (26), 6728-6738 (2005).
• Ryoo, W.; Webber, S. E.; Bonnecaze, R. T.; Johnston, K. P., Long-Ranged Electrostatic Repulsion and Crystallization of Emulsion Droplets in an Ultralow Dielectric Medium Supercritical Carbon Dioxide. Langmuir, 22, (3), 1006-1015 (2006).
• Gupta, G.; Stowell, C. A.; Patel, M. N.; Gao, X.; Yacaman, M. J.; Korgel, B. A.; Johnston, K. P., Infusion of Presynthesized Iridium Nanocrystals into Mesoporous Silica for High Catalyst Activity. Chem. Materials, 18, (26), 6239-6249 (2006).
• Dhanuka, V. V.; Dickson, J. L.; Ryoo, W.; Johnston, K. P., High internal phase CO2-in-water emulsions stabilized with a branched nonionic hydrocarbon surfactant. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 298, (1), 406-418 (2006).
• Adkins, S. S.; Gohil, D.; Dickson, J. L.; Webber, S. E.; Johnston, K. P., Water-in-carbon dioxide emulsions stabilized with hydrophobic silica particles. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 9, (48), 6333-6343 (2007).
• Patel, M. N.; Williams, R. D.; May, R. A.; Uchida, H.; Stevenson, K. J.; Johnston, K. P., Electrophoretic Deposition of Au Nanocrystals inside Perpendicular Mesochannels of TiO2. Chemistry of Materials, 20, (19), 6029-6040 (2008).
• Gupta, G.; Patel, M. N.; Ferrer, D.; Heitsch, A. T.; Korgel, B. A.; Jose-Yacaman, M.; Johnston, K. P., Stable ordered FePt mesoporous silica catalysts with high loadings. Chemistry of Materials, 20, (15), 5005-5015 (2008).