Keith Stine

Professor Stine graduated with special honors with a B.S. in Chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University and received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA and joined the UMSL Chemistry Department in the Fall of 1990 and served as the Chair of the Faculty Senate and University Assembly recently for two years.

Dr. Stine's research effort involves studies of modified surfaces and nanostructures. The surface modification of nanostructures is pursued with a focus on their prospective applications in bioanalytical chemistry such as in immunoassays, sensors, or in separations. Immobilization of proteins onto nanostructures of gold and other materials is pursued by adsorption or by covalent linkage to self-assembled monolayers. The characterization of these nanostructures by microscopy (SEM, TEM, AFM) is actively pursued. The bioanalytical application of these materials is pursued using primarily electrochemical methods such as impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Nanoporous gold and other related materials are of particular interest due to their high surface area and capacity to be surface modified, as well as their support of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). The preparation and characterization of these materials uses a range of electrochemical techniques and other analytical methods including gas adsorption isotherm analysis for determination of pore size, distribution, and surface area, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for analysis of surface loading. Other projects concern the study of lipid monolayers and bilayers as models of processes occurring at the surface of cell membranes, and the use of these monolayers in molecular recognition studies. Monolayers are studied using surface pressure isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy. A special interest is in the field of carbohydrate - protein interactions at interfaces, motivated by the broad biological significance of carbohydrates. The field of supported synthesis of carbohydrates using nanoporous gold and related materials is also actively pursued in collaboration with the Demchenko lab.