Laboratory for Theoretical Soft Materials

The Alexander-Katz group, part of the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering, combines theory and simulations to develop a deep understanding of a variety of soft materials systems. Soft materials are defined by the relatively weak interactions between their constituent molecules, leading to unique properties and outstanding versatility. Biological soft materials such as proteins, DNA, and lipids form the building blocks of life, self-assembling into hierarchical systems that control essentially all biological functions. As control over synthetic soft materials systems has improved, the same principles prevalent in biology have been applied to drug delivery, nanotemplating, and photovoltaics.

Professor Alexander-Katz's Group is interested in gaining a fundamental understanding of the self-assembly and dynamics of soft materials for novel applications in fields such as medicine, biology, engineering, physics, and chemistry. The topics we study are highly interdisciplinary, working at the interface of physics, physical chemistry, and biology, and we look to nature for inspiration and general guidelines. We employ a wide range of theoretical and simulation techniques to gain valuable insight, implementing whatever tools are necessary to study the particular system under consideration. Finally, we actively pursue experimental collaborations to serve not only as inspiration, but also as a quantitative test of our results and predictions.

Soft materials have been and continue to revolutionize our world due to their wide range of properties and outstanding versatility. Within most of these materials one finds that the core constituents are polymers, which can be either of biological or synthetic origin. These biopolymers have also served as an inspiration for the rapid development of a new generation of tailor-made synthetic, biological, or hybrid macromolecules that under the right conditions can perform programmed functions, such as targeted drug delivery.

The Alexander-Katz group uses theory and computer simulations to understand a variety of soft matter systems. Our work largely concentrates on the self-assembly and dynamics of systems ranging from single chain polymers, block copolymers, lipid bilayers, colloids, and polymer brushes.

Work can be largely divided into three primary research areas:
(1) Behavior of soft materials in non-equilibrium conditions
(2) Self-assembly of polymers, block copolymers, and supramolecular systems
(3) Adsorption of soft materials to biological interfaces