Lipid nanoparticle self-assembly and growth. We strive to understand the kinetics of RNA-lipid nanoparticle self-assembly, how to kinetically control the assembly process to minimize LNP heterogeneity and obtain a homogenous population of nanoparticles. We also investigate PEI-DNA complexation for DNA delivery. We mainly employ analytical kinetic theory, kinetic Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. Our kinetic Monte Carlo code FormLNP for simulating LNP assembly is freely available here. Ongoing collaboration with experimental groups of Hai-Quan Mao, Tza-Huei Wang and Xizhen Lian.

Controlling Payload Heterogeneity in Lipid Nanoparticles for RNA-Based Therapeutics
T.H. Pial, S. Li, J. Lin, T.-H. Wang, H.-Q. Mao, T. Curk
Advanced Functional Materials (2026) [pdf]

Trivalent ions kinetic-gating for producing high-concentration and shelf-stable plasmid DNA/PEI particles
J. Lin, Y. Hu, T.H. Pial, K. D. Goodier, D. Yu, P. Brailsford, M. Choi-Ali, J. T. Feng, S. Li, Y. Zhu, J. Ma, L. Cheng, X. Lu, N. Korintez, M. Guise, T.-H. Wang, T. Curk, H.-Q. Mao
Nature Communications (2026) [pdf]

Single-Particle Spectroscopic Chromatography Reveals Heterogeneous RNA Loading and Size Correlations in Lipid Nanoparticles
S. Li, Y. Hu, J. Lin, Z. Schneiderman, F. Shao, L. Wei, A. Li, K. Hsieh, E. Kokkoli, T. Curk, H.-Q. Mao, T.-H. Wang
ACS Nano 2024, 18, 24, 15729–15743 [pdf]

We are investigaing charge-structure coupling in nanoparticles and polyelectrolytes for designing e.g. soft-actuators for soft robotics, and investigate fundamental physics of collective ion transport at the nanoscale. We develop simulation methods that combine accurate long-range electrostatics with hydrodynamics and dynamic conformational response. The charge regulation solver is available as an open-source implementation of the charge-regulation solver for the LAMMPS molecular dynamics package.

Designing Actuation in pH-Responsive Hydrogels
J. Yuan, T. Curk, Macromolecules 59 (2026) [pdf]

Dissipative particle dynamics for coarse-grained models, T. Curk, J. Chem. Phys. 160, 174115 (2024) [pdf]

Discontinuous Transition in Electrolyte Flow through Charge-Patterned Nanochannels, T Curk, S. G. Leyva, I. Pagonabarraga, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133 (2024) [pdf]

Collapse and expansion kinetics of a single polyelectrolyte chain with hydrodynamic interactions, J. Yuan and T. Curk, J. Chem. Phys. 160, 161103 (2024)

Investigating polaron (electron, hole) transfer in conductive polymers and charge structure coupling in conductive soft matter. The long-term goal is to design charge-structure coupling for efficient soft electronics devices and memristors for neuromorphic computing, and intelligent soft materials (artificial brain) that can efficiently process information.
We investigate these systems by employing Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations, combined with new algorithm development to implement Marcus charge transfer theory within simulations.

Many medical conditions can be detected or diagnosed by analyzing chemical compounds circulating in the bloodstream or that are in other body liquids.To confidently detect these proteins quickly and easily, electronic sensors are needed that signal when they are in contact with the proteins that indicate the medical condition of interest to a patient. One way to improve the certainty that a sensor signal is indicating the presence of a particular protein is to provide circuits that remove signals that come from other compounds in the liquids being analyzed, like salt, fats, and additional proteins. This project investigates a new circuit, constructed with new biologically-derived electronic materials, designed to remove these unwanted signals that make it more difficult to detect the proteins that indicate medical conditions. In collaboration with Howard Katz and Supported by NSF CBET award No. 2402407.

A Study of the Drift Phenomena of Gate-Functionalized Biosensors and Dual-Gate-Functionalized Biosensors in Human Serum
Y. Song, N. Chen, T. Curk, H. E. Katz, Molecules 29 (7), 1459 (2024)