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David Cliffel

Title and Contact Information

Associate Professor of Chemistry
Office: 5519 SC
Phone: (615) 343-3937
Email • Website

Education

Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1998

Specialties

VINSE
VICB
Nanoparticle Biomimics
Electronanalytical Chemistry
Chemical Biology
Bioanalytical Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry

In the News

Arts and Science Magazine-In Place with David Cliffel
Research News @ Vanderbilt-New technique maps twin faces of smallest Janus nanoparticles
Research News @ Vanderbilt-Vanderbilt-led team to develop 'microbrain' to improve drug testing
The Tennessean-David Cliffel, John McLean, and colleagues have big hopes on a tiny device
Research News @ Vanderbilt-David Cliffel and a colleague have explored the power of spinach

Cliffel

Research

Multianalyte Microphysiometry
Analytical chemistry often leads the forefront of scientific discovery, as new instrumentation allows us to perform new experiments. Our group has created multianalyte microphysiometry by combining microfluidic technologies with electrochemical detection to study the dynamic behaviors of metabolic pathways. We are developing new multianalyte microphysiometry methods with applications in cancer, diabetes, and toxicology. We have added electrochemical detectors for many metabolic analytes into the microfluidic chamber to give a complete dynamical picture of the live cell population.

Nanoparticle Biomimics
The ability to mimic biomolecular recognition requires the generation of nanoscale structures that faithfully reproduce the lock & key motif of protein binding. We have designed biomimics that present targeted linear and loop peptide structures on the surface of monolayer protected gold nanoparticles. These biomimics are useful for calibrating immunoassays, especially in our immunosensor work with the quartz crystal microbalance.

Electrochemistry on the Nanoscale
Electron transfer in nanometer-size chemical systems is an important process for the creation of macromolecular electronics. We are interested in the electrochemistry of metallic nanoparticles, redox proteins like Photosystem I, and other electroactive nanomaterials that bridge the gap between bulk solids and discrete molecules in the development of electronic devices using nanotechnology.

Selected Publications

Harkness, K. M., Turner, B. N., Agrawal, A. C., Zhang, Y. B., McLean, J. A., Cliffel, D. E. Biomimetic monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles for immunorecognition. Nanoscale. 2012, 4 (13): 3843-3851.

Harkness, K. M., Tang, Y., Dass, A., Pan, J., Kothalawala, N., Reddy, V. J., Cliffel, D. E., Demeler, B., Stellacci, F., Bakr, O. M., McLean, J. A. Ag-44(SR)(30)(4-): a silver-thiolate superatom complex. Nanoscale. 2012, 4 (14): 4269-4274.

McKenzie, J. R., Palubinsky, A. M., Brown, J. E., McLaughlin, B., Cliffel, D. E. Metabolic Multianalyte Microphysiometry Reveals Extracellular Acidosis is an Essential Mediator of Neuronal Preconditioning. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 2012, 3 (7): 510-518.

Harry, R. S., Hiatt, L. A., Kimmel, D. W., Carney, C. K., Halfpenny, K. C., Cliffel, D. E., Wright, D. W. Metabolic Impact of 4-Hydroxynonenal on Macrophage-Like RAW 264.7 Function and Activation. Chemical Research in Toxicology. 2012, 25 (8): 1643-1651.

LeBlanc, G., Chen, G. P., Jennings, G. K., Cliffel, D. E. Photoreduction of Catalytic Platinum Particles Using Immobilized Multilayers of Photosystem I. Langmuir. 2012, 28 (21): 7952-7956.

Hiatt, L. A., McKenzie, J. R., Deravi, L. F., Harry, R. S., Wright, D. W., Cliffel, D. E. A printed superoxide dismutase coated electrode for the study of macrophage oxidative burst. Biosensors & Bioelectronics. 2012, 33 (1): 128-133.

Kimmel, D. W., LeBlanc, G., Meschievitz, M. E., Cliffel, D. E. Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors. Analytical Chemistry. 2012, 84 (2): 685-707.

Harkness, K. M., Balinski, A., McLean, J. A., Cliffel, D. E. Nanoscale Phase Segregation of Mixed Thiolates on Gold Nanoparticles. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition. 2011, 50 (45): 10554-10559.

Wang, B., Wright, D., Cliffel, D., Haglund, R., Pantelides, S.T. Ionization-Enhanced Decomposition of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) Molecules. Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 2011, 115 (28): 8142-8146.

Simpson, C.A., Agrawal, A.C., Balinski, A., Harkness, K.M., Cliffel, D.E. Short-Chain PEG Mixed Monolayer Protected Gold Clusters Increase Clearance and Red Blood Cell Counts. ACS NANO. 2011, 5 (5): 3577-3584.

Ciesielski, P.N., Cliffel, D.E., Jennings, G.K. Kinetic Model of the Photocatalytic Effect of a Photosystem I Monolayer on a Planar Electrode Surface. Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 2011, 115 (15): 3326-3334.

Velkovsky, M., Snider, R., Cliffel, D.E., Wikswo, J.P. Modeling the measurements of cellular fluxes in microbioreactor devices using thin enzyme electrodes. Journal of Mathematical Chemistry. 2011, 49 (1): 251-275.

Miller, S.A., Hiatt, L.A., Keil, R.G., Wright, D.W., Cliffel, D.E., Multifunctional nanoparticles as simulants for a gravimetric immunoassay. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 2011, 399 (3): 1021-1029.

Zeiger, S. L. H., McKenzie, J. R., Stankowski, J. N., Martin, J. A., Cliffel, D. E., McLaughlin, B. Neuron specific metabolic adaptations following multi-day exposures to oxygen glucose deprivation. Biochimica ET Biophysica ACTA-Molecular Basis of Disease. 2010, 1802 (11): 1095-1104.

Simpson, C. A., Huffman, B. J., Gerdon, A. E., Cliffel, D. E. Unexpected Toxicity of Mono layer Protected Gold Clusters Eliminated by PEG-Thiol Place Exchange Reactions. Chemical Research in Toxicology. 2010, 23 (10): 1608-1616.

Harkness KM, Cliffel DE, McLean JA. Characterization of thiolate-protected gold nanoparticles by mass spectrometry. Analyst. 2010, 135 (5): 868-874.