Our research strives to achieve a molecular-level understanding of solvation and transport in aqueous and polymeric systems, with applications ranging from the prediction of protein interactions to the design of advanced materials for water purification and renewable energy.
To study these biological, nanoscopic, and polymeric systems, our group combines principles of statistical mechanics and liquid state theory with state-of-the-art molecular modeling and atomistic simulation techniques. We interface closely with experimentalists, both to realize our predictions and to refine our theoretical models.
- Akash, Amish, and Lizhu presented at the GRC on Chemistry and Physics of Liquids.
- Yusheng presented at the GRC on Liquid Crystals.
- Akash, Lilia, and Zac presented at the 4th NJIT Molecular Simulations Workshop.
- Nick and Akash completed the NSF I-Corps program.
- Amish recieved the Helmholtz Award from the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS).
- Jeongmoon and Amish presented at IBP 2022. Jeongmoon won the IBP 2022 Biointerphases Presentation Award.
- PLUMED INDUS is publicly available, find it here: INDUS Code
Recent publications View all
NB Rego, AL Ferguson and AJ Patel. "Learning the relationship between nanoscale chemical patterning and hydrophobicity", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (48) e2200018119 (2022).
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NB Rego and AJ Patel. "Understanding Hydrophobic Effects: Insights from Water Density Fluctuations", Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics, 13 (1), 303–324 (2022).
Paper arXiv Preprint
AU Thosar and AJ Patel. "Hydration determines anion accumulation", Nature Chemistry, 14 (1), 8–10 (2022).
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D Dhabal, Z Jiang, A Pallath, and AJ Patel. "Characterizing the Interplay between Polymer Solvation and Conformation", Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 125 (20), 5434–5442 (2021).
Paper arXiv Preprint
UR Gabinet, C Lee, R Poling-Skutvik, D Keane, NK Kim, R Dong, Z Vicars, Y Cai, AU Thosar, A Grun, SM Thompson, AJ Patel, CR Kagan, RJ Composto, and CO Osuji. "Nanocomposites of 2D-MoS2 Exfoliated in Thermotropic Liquid Crystals", ACS Materials Letters, 3(6), 704–712 (2021).
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NB Rego, E Xi, and AJ Patel. "Identifying Hydrophobic Protein Patches to Inform Protein Interaction Interfaces", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118 (6) e2018234118 (2021).
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H Jiang, AJ Patel. "Recent Advances in Estimating Contact Angles Using Molecular Simulations and Enhanced Sampling Methods", Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 23, 130-137 (2019).
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Z Jiang, R Remsing, N Rego, AJ Patel. "Characterizing Solvent Density Fluctuations in Dynamical Observation Volumes", Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 123, 7, 1650-1661 (2019).
Paper arXiv Preprint
H Jiang, S Fialoke, Z Vicars, AJ Patel. "Characterizing Surface Wetting and Interfacial Properties using Enhanced Sampling (SWIPES)", Soft Matter, 15, 860-869 (2019).
Paper Correction arXiv Preprint
N Rego, E Xi, AJ Patel. "Protein Hydration Waters are Susceptible to Unfavorable Perturbations", Journal of the American Chemical Society, 141, 2080-2086 (2019).
Paper arXiv Preprint