National Center for Design of
Biomimetic Nanoconductors

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Millie Firestone

Millie Firestone

Millie Firestone is a Chemist in the Materials Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory. Her research interests include self-asssembled nanostructures, polymers, liquid crystals and gels, and small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering applied to soft materials, nanostructures and biomembranes.

Research

Firestone's research projects include:

  • Determination of the physical principles governing hierarchical biological organization and the synthesis of biomimetic materials that are multi-component, integrated, spatially-organized structures exhibiting functional behavior on multiple length scales (i.e., molecular, mesoscopic, and macroscopic)
  • Synthesis and characterization of adaptive/stimuli-responsive polymer-grafted lipid-based complex fluids, whose structure and physical properties change reversibly in response to external condition such as temperature, applied fields (magnetic, electric, or shear force), and light
  • Development of strategies for the fabrication of nanocomposite materials comprising inorganic nanoparticles spatially organized into processable polymer-based matrices
  • Application of small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering to the study of soft-condensed matter

Firestone's lab works on synthetic membranes into which proteins can be
inserted, and which have better properties for exploring protein
function and possibly for devices than do membranes made from
biological lipids.

Recent Publications

Reiss, B. D., Bai, G.-R., Auciello, O., Ocola, L. E., Firestone, M. A., (in press), "Identification of peptides for the surface functionalization of perovskite ferroelectrics," Appl. Phys. Lett.

Laible, P. D.; Kelly, R. F.; Wasielewski, M. R.; Firestone, M. A. (2005), "Electron transfer dynamics of photosynthetic reaction centers in thermoresponsive soft materials," J. Phys. Chem.B, 109, 23679-23686.

Haralampus, N. M.; Johnson, L. J.; Firestone, M. A. (2005), "Photochromic and optical birefringence properties of azo-dye-doped polymer-grafted lipid-based complex fluids," Macromolecules, 38, 8971-8974.

Batra, D., Vogt, S., Laible, P. D., Firestone, M. A. (2005), "Self-assembled mesoporous polymeric networks for patterned protein arrays," Langmuir, 21, 10301-10306.

Ocola, L. E., Pan, W. C., Kuo, M., Tirumala, V. R., Reiss, Firestone, M. A., Auciello, O. (2005), "Biologically Functionalized Nanochannels on Ferroelectric Lead Zirconium Titanate Surfaces," NISTI-Nanotech, 3, 439-442.

Firestone, M. A., Seifert, S. (2005), "Interaction of Nonionic PEO-PPO Diblock Copolymers with Lipid Bilayers," Biomacromolecules, 6(5), 2678-2687.

Firestone, M. A., Zaluzec, N. J., Dietz, M. L., Seifert, S., Trasobares, S., Miller D. (2005), "Ionogel-Templated Synthesis and Organization of Anisotropic Gold Nanoparticles," Small, 1(7), 754-760.

Wang, J., Firestone, M. A., Carlisle, J. A. (2004), "Surface Functionalization of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Films by Electrochemical Reduction of Aryldiazonium Salts," Langmuir, 20, 11450-11456.

Firestone, M. A., Rickert, P. G., Seifert, S., Dietz, M. L. (2004), "Anion Effects on Ionogel Formation in N,N’ Dialkylimidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids," Inorganica Chimica Acta, 3991-3998.

Grynaviski H. N. M, S. Seifert, M. A. Firestone (2004), "Magnetic Field-Induced Alignment of PEGylated-Lipid Based Complex Fluids: Influence on the Ordering of Intercalated Guests," G Polymeric Materials: Science & Engineering (American Chemical Society, Division of Polymer Chemistry), 91, 1057-1058.

Related Links

Millie Firestone's Argonne Profile