Assistant Professor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Lara Estroff conducts research in the area of bio-inspired materials synthesis. She focuses on the integration of self-assembled monolayers with natural and synthetic hydrogels to create systems in which both nucleation and crystal growth are controlled. In addition, she is interested in the design and synthesis of peptides to inhibit pathological mineralization and, alternatively, to control the growth of organic crystals.
"My studies take inspiration from biological materials. I break down biological processes in order to control and understand them," she says. As an example she cites mother-of-pearl. Dissolve the hard mineral, and the result is an organic matrix-a gelatin-like substance on top of a solid surface-in which crystals nucleate and grow. Estroff uses this crystal matrix concept to design studies that analyze how materials work and how to make better materials.
She employs a nucleating surface-a layer of metal, such as gold; a monolayer of organic molecules is attached at one end to the metal and exposed to solution at the other end; then natural and synthetic hydrogels are applied to encourage the growth of crystals. Estroff studies the resulting crystals to compare their morphology, orientation, and polymorph (different crystalline arrangements of their building blocks). "If we understand how crystals grow," she says, "then we might be able to develop new materials for processes such as bone and tooth repair."
Estroff also researches the formation of different polymorphs of pharmaceuticals. Each polymorph has a unique arrangement of its building blocks, she explains, and the nucleating surface can control in which way they organize. Findings from the studies could lead to improvements in the development of different formulations-gel tablets, liquids, pills-of pharmaceuticals.
Next fall, Estroff will be teaching Materials Chemistry (MSE 204), a required undergraduate course. She also is developing a new graduate course, planned for spring 2007, in the study of biomineralization and biomaterials, such as bone, teeth, seashells, and the silica structures (phytoliths) in the leaves of plants.
Estroff holds a BA (Swarthmore) and a PhD (Yale), both in chemistry. Before joining the engineering faculty at Cornell, she was an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellow in George M. Whiteside's laboratory at Harvard University.
"I enjoy applying molecular chemistry within an engineering environment," she says. "Materials science includes a diverse group of interests and expertise- chemists, physicists, electrical engineers, materials engineers. It affords the opportunities for synthesis, for moving back and forth from the molecular to the macro scales of perception, and for 'a-ha!' moments of discovery."
