Barnes Integrated Materials Research Group

Research Areas

Synthetic Organic Chemistry / Polymer Synthesis / Supramolecular Chemistry / Nanomaterials / Biomedical Engineering / Inorganic & Environmental Chemistry

Research Interests

The Barnes Integrated Materials Chemistry Research Group employs a multi-disciplinary approach towards research challenges in the areas of stimuli-responsive materials, combination therapeutics, templated biomaterials, and porous crystalline materials that serve as a platform for catalysis, chemical separation, and energy storage applications.  The “keystone” of our research program is synthetic organic chemistry, which is central to the preparation of all functional materials in our group.  Supramolecular and polymer chemistries are directly associated with this keystone, and together, all three areas represent the foundation of the research group.  We aim to build on this foundation by constructing novel 'smart' materials with well-defined functions – for both fundamental and applied purposes – that will ultimately lead us down research pathways in the areas of nanomaterials, biomedical engineering, and inorganic and environmental chemistries. 

Researchers who join the Barnes laboratory will gain valuable experience in a broad range of areas and techniques, such as synthetic chemistry, spectrometric identification of organic compounds, polymer synthesis, characterization of non-covalent bonding interactions and host-guest systems, absorption spectroscopy, electrochemistry, size-exclusion chromatography, dynamic light scattering, cell culturing, and in vivo efficacy studies.  The new Barnes group research space will consist of a large synthesis laboratory (multiple fume hoods, glovebox, solvent purification system, etc.), in addition to a biological laboratory (complete with a cell culture room) and an instrument room for compound purification, polymer analysis, electrochemistry, and optical absorption spectroscopy experiments.

Appointments

July 2016-present, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis

Awards and Fellowships

Selected Publications (30+ total)

Greene, A. F.; Danielson, M.; Liles, K. P.; Delawder, A. O.; Li, X.; Natraj, A.; Wellen, A.; Barnes, J. C.* Redox-responsive Artificial Molecular Muscles: Reversible Radical-based Self-assembly for Actuating Hydrogels. Chem. Mater. 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b03635

Barnes, J. C.; Bruno, P.; Nguyen, H. V.-T.; Liao, L.; Liu, J.; Hemann, M. T.; Johnson, J. A. Using an RNAi Signature Assay to Guide the Design of Three-Drug Conjugated Nanoparticles with Validated Mechanisms, In Vivo Efficacy, and Low Toxicity. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 12494–12501.  Highlighted in MIT News

Barnes, J. C.; Ehrlich, D. J.; Gao, A. X.; Leibfarth, F. A.; Jiang, Y.; Zhou, E.; Jamison, T. F.; Johnson, J. A. Iterative Exponential Growth of Stereo- and Sequence-Controlled Polymers. Nature Chem. 2015, 7, 810–815. Highlighted in RSC’s Chemistry World.

Barnes, J. C.; Dale, E. J.; Prokofjevs, A.; Narayanan, A.; Gibbs-Hall, I. C.; Juríček, M.; Stern, C. L.; Sarjeant, A. A.; Botros, Y. Y.; Stupp, S. I.; Stoddart, J. F. Semiconducting Single Crystals Comprising Segregated Arrays of Complexes of C₆₀. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 2392–2399.

Barnes, J. C.; Frasconi, M.; Young, R. M.; Khdary, N. H.; Liu, W.-G.; Dyar, S. M.; McGonigal, P. R.; Gibbs-Hall, I. C.; Diercks, C. S.; Sarjeant, A. A.; Stern, C. L.; Goddard, W. A., III; Wasielewski, M. R.; Stoddart, J. F. Solid-State Characterization and Photoinduced Intramolecular Electron Transfer in a Nanoconfined Octacationic Homo[2]Catenane.  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 10569‒10572.

Juríček, M.; Strutt, N. L.; Barnes, J. C.; Butterfield, A. M.; Dale, E. J.; Baldridge, K. K.; Stoddart, J. F.; Siegel, J. S.  Induced-Fit Catalysis of Corannulene Bowl-to-Bowl Inversion.  Nature Chem. 2014, 6, 222‒228.

Barnes, J. C.; Juríček, M.; Vermeulen, N. A.; Dale, E. J.; Stoddart, J. F. Synthesis of ExⁿBox Cyclophanes.  J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 11962–11969.

Juríček, M. ^†; Barnes, J. C.^†; Dale, E. J.; Liu, W.-G.; Strutt, N. L.; Bruns, C. J.; Vermeulen, N. A.; Ghooray, K.; Sarjeant, A. A.; Stern, C. L.; Botros, Y. Y.; Goddard, W. A., III; Stoddart, J. F.  Ex²Box: Interdependent Modes of Binding in a Two-Nanometer-Long Synthetic Receptor.  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 12736–12746. ^†These authors contributed equally.

Barnes, J. C.; Fahrenbach, A. C.;  Cao, D.;  Dyar, S. M.;  Frasconi, M.; Giesener,  M. A.; Benítez, D.; Tkatchouk, E.; Chernyashevskyy, O.; Shin, W. H.; Li, H.; Sampath, S.; Stern, C. L.; Sarjeant, A. A.; Hartlieb, K. J.; Liu, Z.; Carmieli, R.; Botros, Y. Y.; Choi, J. W.; Slawin, A. M. Z.; Ketterson, J. B.; Wasielewski, M. R.; Goddard, W. A., III; Stoddart, J. F.  A Radically Configurable Six-State Compound.  Science  2013, 339, 429–433.  Highlighted in C&EN ‘News of the Week’, RSC’s Chemistry World, Nature Middle East, and Nature Chemistry’s News and Views.

Barnes, J. C.; Juríček, M.; Strutt, N. L.; Frasconi, M.; Sampath, S.; Giesener,  M. A.; McGrier, P. L.; Bruns, C. J.; Stern, C. L.; Sarjeant, A. A.; Stoddart, J. F.  ExBox: A Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Scavenger. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 183–192.  Front Cover Article. Highlighted in C&EN and RSC’s Chemistry World.

Barnes, J. C.; Fahrenbach, A. C.; Dyar, S. M.; Frasconi, M.; Giesener, M. A.; Zhu, Z.; Liu, Z.; Hartlieb, K. J.; Carmieli, R.; Wasielewski, M. R.; Stoddart, J. F.  Mechanically-Induced Intramolecular Electron Transfer in a Mixed-Valence Molecular Shuttle.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2012, 109, 11546–11551.  Front Cover Article.

Fahrenbach, A. C.; Barnes, J. C.; Lanfranchi, D. A.; Li, H.; Coskun, A.; Gassensmith, J. J.; Liu, Z.; Benítez, D.; Trabolsi, A.; Goddard, W. A., III; Elhabiri, M.; Stoddart, J. F.  Solution-Phase Mechanistic Study and Solid-State Structure of a Tris(Bipyridinium Radical Cation) Inclusion Complex.  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 3061–3072.

Li, Z.; Barnes, J. C.; Bosoy, A.; Stoddart, J. F.; Zink, J. I.  Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications.  Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012, 41, 2590–2605. 

Patents

Johnson, J. A.; Longyan, L.; Barnes, J. C. U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/346,923.  Drug Delivery Polymers and Uses Thereof.  Filed: June 7, 2016.

Johnson, J. A.; Barnes, J. C.; Ehrlich, D. J. C.; Jiang, Y.; Gao, A. X. U.S. Patent Application 15/074,779.  Formation of Macromolecules Using Iterative Growth and Related Compounds.  Filed: June 6, 2016.

Stoddart, J. F.; Barnes, J. C.; Juricek, M.  U.S. Patent 9,290,495.  Tetracationic Cyclophanes and Their Use in the Sequestration of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons By Way of Complexation.  Published: March 22, 2016.

Stoddart, J. F.; Dale, E. J.; Vermeulen, N. A.; Barnes, J. C.; Juricek, M.  U.S. Patent Application 14/844,577. ExCage: Synthesis of Viologen-Like Pyridinium-Based Cages for the Selective Capture of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons.  Filed: September 3, 2015.    

Stoddart, J. F.; Fahrenbach, A. C.; Barnes, J. C.; Li, H.; Sampath, S.; Basuray, A.  U.S. Patent 9,120,799.  Crystalline Bipyridinium Radical Complexes and Uses Thereof.  Published: September 1, 2015.