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Nathan Wittenberg, associate professor of chemistry at Lehigh University

Nathan Wittenberg

Associate Professor

610.758.3357
naw416@lehigh.edu
Seeley G. Mudd, Room 694
Education:

B.S. in Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Ph.D. in Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University

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Additional Interests

  • Lipid membranes
  • Lipid droplets
  • Lipid-protein interactions
  • Extracellular vesicles
  • Microfluidics and nanofabrication

Research Statement

The Wittenberg lab conducts research in bioanalytical chemistry. We investigate a variety of molecular interactions that occur at biological surfaces, particularly lipid bilayer membranes. We aim to better understand how membrane structure and composition modulate protein-lipid interactions. Many of the protein-lipid interactions we study are crucial to the structure and function of the nervous system.

We also utilize a number of different analytical approaches to characterize chemical composition and monitor molecular transport dynamics in biological nanostructures such as bacterial outer membrane vesicles. Our work in this area also seeks to determine how outer membrane vesicles protect bacteria from antibiotics. 

Another aspect of our research focuses on lipid oxidation and how it alters the chemical and physical properties of lipid bilayer membranes. We study the consequences of lipid oxidation on the interactions between biomembranes and solid substrates, and we use microfluidic approaches to investigate interactions between oxidized lipids and immune system receptors. 

Our work makes use of several analytical techniques like optical microscopy, biosensing, particle analysis, optical spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, microfluidics, 3-D printing, and nanofabrication. Some of our projects involve collaborations with biochemists, medical researchers, and engineers, thus there are ample opportunities for multidisciplinary training and for students to make connections outside of chemistry. Interested undergraduates and graduate students are encouraged to contact Prof. Wittenberg to inquire about available research opportunities.

Biography

Prof. Wittenberg earned his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota, where he conducted undergraduate research with Prof. Edgar Arriaga on the separation of organelles from single cells using microfluidic devices. For graduate school he attended Penn State, where he received a Ph.D. in chemistry. At Penn State, his dissertation research with Prof. Andrew Ewing focused on deciphering the biophysical mechanisms of exocytosis, which is the process of cellular secretion, using electroanalytical methods. He used an “artificial cell” system, free of the exocytosis protein machinery, to determine how lipid bilayer properties play a role in the exocytosis process. After graduate school, he moved to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland for a postdoctoral fellowship in the School of Chemistry and Division of Pathway Medicine. Here he worked toward the development of electrochemical sensing arrays for the rapid diagnosis of hepatitis C. After Edinburgh, he returned to the United States as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Minnesota, first in the Department of Chemistry with Prof. Christy Haynes, then in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with Prof. Sang-Hyun Oh. In these roles he conducted research on electrochemical detection of neurotransmitters in the leech nervous system, as well as the development of nanofabricated optical sensors for characterizing the interactions of therapeutic antibodies with lipid bilayer membranes. During his time in Minnesota, he was also appointed as a research fellow in neurology at the Mayo Clinic, where he worked with Profs. Moses Rodriguez and John Henley on antibody-based therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Prof. Wittenberg joined the Department of Chemistry at Lehigh University in 2016.

Selected Recent Publications

D.E. Santa, T.P. Brown, W. Im, N.J. Wittenberg. Atherosclerotic Oxidized Lipids Affect Formation and Biophysical Properties of Supported Lipid Bilayers and Simulated Membranes. Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2024, 128, 11694 - 11704. 

​A.N. Singh, M. Wu, T.T. Ye, A.C. Brown, N.J. Wittenberg. Engineering Planar Gram-Negative Membrane Mimics Using Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles. Langmuir 2024, 40, 23289 - 23300. 

​B.A. Berger, H.M. Vietor, D.W. Scott, H. Lee, S. Hashemipour, W. Im, N.J. Wittenberg, K.J. Glover. Physicochemical Properties of Seed Oil Blends and Their Potential for the Creation of Synthetic Oleosomes with Modulated Polarities. ACS Omega 2024, 9, 43193 - 43202.

​J.L. Cawley, D.E. Santa, A.N. Singh, A.T. Odudimu, B.A. Berger, NJ. Wittenberg. Chaotropic Agent-assisted Supported Lipid Bilayer Formation. Langmuir 2024, 40, 20629 - 20639. 

​A.N. Singh, J.B. Nice, M. Wu, A.C. Brown, N.J. Wittenberg. Multivariate Analysis of Individual Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles using Fluorescence Microscopy. Chemical & Biomedical Imaging 2024, 2, 352 - 361.

​S. Gee, K.J. Glover, N.J. Wittenberg, W. Im. CHARMM-GUI Membrane Builder for Lipid Droplet Modeling and Simulation. ChemPlusChem 2024, 89, e202400013. 

​​​J.L. Cawley, B.A. Berger, A.T. Odudimu, A.N. Singh, D.E. Santa, A.I. McDarby, A.R. Honerkamp-Smith, N.J. Wittenberg. Imaging Giant Vesicle Membrane Domains with a Luminescent Europium Tetracycline Complex. ACS Omega 2023, 8, 29314 - 29323. 

​J.A. Julien, S.G, Mutchek, N.J. Wittenberg, K.J. Glover. Biophysical Characterization of Full-Length Oleosin in Dodecylphosphocholine Micelles. Proteins 2022, 90, 560 - 565. 

​J.L. Cawley, M.E. Blauch, S.M. Collins, J.B Nice, Q. Xie, L.R. Jordan, A.C. Brown, N.J. Wittenberg. Nanoarrays of Individual Liposomes and Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles by Liftoff Nanocontact Printing. Small 2021, 17, 2103338. 

​J.A. Julien, A.L. Pellett, S.S. Shah, N.J. Wittenberg, K.J. Glover. Preparation and Characterization of Neutrally-Buoyant Oleosin-Rich Synthetic Lipid Droplets. Biochim Biophys Acta 2021, 1863, 183624. 

​A.M. Baxter, L.R. Jordan, M. Kullappan, N.J. Wittenberg. Tubulation of Supported Lipid Bilayer Membranes Induced by Photosensitized Lipid Oxidation. Langmuir 2021, 37, 5753 - 5762

​J.L. Cawley, L.R. Jordan N.J. Wittenberg. Detection and Characterization of Vesicular Gangliosides Binding to Myelin-Associated Glycoprotein on Supported Lipid Bilayers. Analytical Chemistry 2021, 93, 1185 - 1192.

Teaching

CHM 031: Chemical Equilibria in Aqueous Systems
CHM 332: Analytical Chemistry
CHM 335: Advanced Chemistry Laboratory II
CHM 436: Special Topics: Bioanalytical Chemistry