Jessica D. Schiffman
221 Goessmann
Chemical Engineering Department
University of Massachusetts Amherst
686 N. Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003-9303
413-545-6143 (Office)
413-545-1647 (FAX)
schiffman@ecs.umass.edu
Education.
B.S., Rutgers University, Ceramic & Materials Engineering, 2003
M.Eng., Cornell University, Materials Science & Engineering, 2004
Ph.D., Drexel University, Materials Science & Engineering, 2009
Post-Doc, Yale University, Chemical & Environmental Engineering
Research Interests.
- Materials science and engineering
- Renewable biopolymers and bioactive natural products
- Nanostructure synthesis
- Antibacterial surfaces
- Water and wastewater treatment
Research Overview
The Schiffman Lab aims to elucidate and employ the materials properties of renewable biopolymers and bioactive products for the sustainable synthesis of novel nanostructures. Polymers derived from natural sources have inherent qualities that make them superior to synthetic polymers. They are antibacterial, biodegradable, biocompatible, chelate ions, and have coagulation capabilities. Natural products, like plant derivatives exhibit wide-spectrum antimicrobial activity. By analyzing the chemistry, processability, and biological functionality of these agents we are able to engineer and characterize devices that address public health concerns in biomedical and environmental fields. Currently, applications of interest include antibiofilm coatings, nanofiber scaffolds for wound healing, as well as membranes that selectively remove contaminants. Our research is interdisciplinary in nature, drawing influences from chemical engineering, materials science engineering, environmental engineering, and microbiology.
Select Publications
Schiffman, JD, Wang, Y, Giannelis, EP, Elimelech, M., Biocidal Activity of Plasma Modified Electrospun Polysulfone Mats Functionalized with Polyethyleneimine-Capped Silver Nanoparticles. Langmuir Accepted.
Brenner, EK, Schiffman, JD, Thomson, ES, Toth, LJ, Schauer, CL (2011) Electrospinning of Hyaluronic Acid Nanofibers from Aqueous Ammonium Solutions. Carbohydrate Polymers. DOI:10.1016/j.carbpol.2011.07.033
Schiffman, JD, Elimelech, M (2011) Antibacterial activity of electrospun polymer membranes with incorporated narrow diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 3(2) 462-468.
Schiffman, JD, Blackford, AC, Wegst, UGK, Schauer, CL (2011) Carbon black immobilized in electrospun chitosan membranes. Carbohydrate Polymers. 84(4) 1252-1257.
Vecitis, CD, Schnoor, M, Rahaman, MS, Schiffman, JD, Elimelech, M, (2011) Electrochemical multiwalled carbon nanotube filter for viral and bacterial removal and inactivation. Environmental Science & Technology 45 (8) 3672–3679.
Yip, NY, Tiraferri, A, Phillip, WA, Schiffman, JD, Hoover, LA, Kim, YC, Elimelech, M (2011) Thin-Film Composite Pressure Retarded Osmosis Membranes for Sustainable Power Generation from Salinity Gradients. Environmental Science & Technology45(10) 4360–4369.
Tiraferri, A, Yip, NY, Phillip, WA, Schiffman, JD, Elimelech, M (2011) Relating performance of thin-film composite forward osmosis membranes to support layer structure and formation. Journal of Membrane Science 367, 340-352.
Yip, NY, Tiraferri, A, Phillip, WA, Schiffman, JD, Elimelech, M (2010) High performance thin-film composite membrane for forward osmosis desalination. Environmental Science & Technology 44(10) 3812-3818.
Schiffman, JD, Stulga, LA, Schauer, CL (2009) Crystalization of chitin and chitosan: Transformations due to the electrospinning process. Polymer Engineering & Science 49(10) 1918-1928.
Binetti, VE, Schiffman, JD, Leafer, OD, Spanier, JE, Schauer, CL (2009) Piezoelectric response of the Greta oto wing. Integrative Biology 1(3) 324-329.
Schiffman, JD, Schauer, CL (2009) Solid state characterization of α-chitin from Vanessa cardui Linnaeus wings. Materials Science & Engineering, C: Biomimetic & Supramolecular Systems 29(4) 1370-1374.
Laudenslager, ML, Schiffman, JD, Schauer, CL (2008) Carboxymethyl chitosan as a matrix material for platinum, gold, and silver nanoparticles. Biomacromolecules 9(10) 2682-2685.
Schiffman, JD, Schauer, CL (2008) A Review: Electrospinning of Biopolymer Nanofibers and their Applications. Polymer Reviews 48(2) 317-352.
Schiffman, JD, Schauer, CL (2007) One-step electrospinning of cross-linked chitosan nanobers. Biomacromolecules 8(9) 2665-2667.
Schiffman, JD, Schauer, CL (2007) Cross-linking chitosan nanofibers. Biomacromolecules 8(2) 594-601
