About

Kenneth S. Suslick is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on the chemical effects of ultrasound, sonoluminescence, mechanochemistry, and the synthesis of nanostructured materials using ultrasound. His work involves the development and application of ultrasonic techniques to generate and study novel materials and chemical processes, including sonochemical synthesis of inorganic and biological materials, and the investigation of cavitation phenomena. Suslick's contributions include advancing the understanding of ultrasound-mediated reactions and their applications in materials science and chemistry.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Geology
• Optoelectronics
• Organic chemistry
• Environmental chemistry
• Paleontology
• Physics
• Chromatography
• Chemical physics
• Environmental science

Selected publications

• Magnetomotive contrast for in vivo optical coherence tomography

  UNC Libraries · 2023-06-16

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Molecularly-specific contrast can greatly enhance the biomedical utility of optical coherence tomography (OCT). We describe a contrast mechanism, magnetomotive OCT (MMOCT), where a modulated magnetic field induces motion of magnetic nanoparticles. The motion of the nanoparticles modifies the amplitude of the OCT interferogram. High specificity is achieved by subtracting the background fluctuations of the specimen, and sensitivity to 220 μg/g magnetite nanoparticles is demonstrated. Optically and mechanically correct tissue phantoms elucidate the relationships between imaging contrast and nanoparticle concentration, imaging depth, tissue optical scattering, and magnetic field strength. MMOCT is demonstrated in a living Xenopus laevis tadpole where the results were consistent with corresponding histology.

  PublisherDOI

• Magnetic contrast agents for optical coherence tomography

  Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · 2023-06-16

  articleOpen access

  The magneto-mechanical effect is exploited as a means of producing background-free contrast in optical coherence tomography (OCT). Contrast agents consisting of iron-oxide particles and protein microspheres encapsulating colloidal iron-oxide have a sufficiently high magnetic susceptibility to be detected by modulation of a magnetic field gradient using a small solenoid coil. The externally-applied magnetic field mechanically rotates or translates these highly scattering contrast agents within the sample at the modulation frequency, which is subsequently detected as amplitude modulation of the OCT signal. Pairs of sequential axial scans (A-lines) are acquired with the magnetic field on and off, allowing one to build up a pair of images corresponding to the "on" and "off" states of the magnetic field. These image pairs are differenced to look for magnetic-specific effects, allowing one to distinguish the magnetic contrast agents from non-magnetic structures within the sample with a signal-to-background ratio of ∼23dB. This technique has the potential to be very powerful when coupled with targeting for in vivo molecular imaging. To evaluate this potential we demonstrate in vitro imaging of magnetically-labeled macrophage cells embedded in a 3D tissue phantom, in vitro tissue doped with contrast agents, and in vivo imaging of Xenopus laevis (African frog) tadpoles.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Isotope separation by photochromatography

  OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · 2023-01-23

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  An isotope separation method which comprises physically adsorbing an isotopically mixed molecular species on an adsorptive surface and irradiating the adsorbed molecules with radiation of a predetermined wavelength which will selectively excite a desired isotopic species. Sufficient energy is transferred to the excited molecules to desorb them from the surface and thereby separate them from the unexcited undesired isotopic species. The method is particularly applicable to the separation of hydrogen isotopes.

  Publisher

• Optical characterization of contrast agents for optical coherence tomography

  Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · 2023-06-16

  articleOpen access

  The use of contrast agents in almost every imaging modality has been known to enhance the sensitivity of detection and improve diagnostic capabilities by site-specifically labeling tissues or cells of interest. The imaging capabilities of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) need to be improved in order to detect early neoplastic changes in medicine and tumor biology. We introduce and characterize the optical properties of several types of optical contrast agents in OCT, namely encapsulating microspheres that incorporate materials including melanin, gold, and carbon. Micron-sized microspheres have been fabricated by state-of-the-art sonicating and ultrasound technology. The optical properties of optical contrast agents have been characterized according to their scattering and absorption coefficients and lifetimes using OCT and the oblique incidence reflectometry method. Finally, we demonstrate the use of these optical contrast agents in in vitro mice liver and analyze the contrast improvement from the OCT images. These optical contrast agents have the potential to improve the detection of in vivo pathologies in the future.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Cavitation‐Mediated Transcutaneous Delivery of Protein and Nucleotide‐based Antigen for Rapid High‐level Immune Responses

  Advanced Therapeutics · 2023-09-01 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Alternatives are needed to remove the pain, injury, cross‐infection, and hazardous waste associated with needle and syringe (N+S)‐based vaccination. Reported here is the use of novel ultrasound‐responsive protein cavitation nuclei (pCaN), formed using the model antigen bovine serum albumin (BSA), to achieve effective transcutaneous delivery. Upon exposure to ultrasound (US), these pCaN instigate cavitation events which propel themselves and co‐located DNA vectors into the skin. US parameters as well as pCaN and DNA concentration are refined to achieve optimal expression of encoded luciferase transgene. Twenty‐four hours post‐treatment, luciferase expression in the skin, by IVIS imaging, was 1.67 × 10 6 ±941943, photons per sec for N+S intradermal injection and 1.49 × 10 6 ±261832 for cavitation‐mediated delivery ( p >0.05). Hence, there is no significant difference in luciferase level achieved, but improved homogeneity and reproducibility of expression are evident in mice treated using US‐mediated cavitation. Despite this equivalence in luciferase levels, a >5× higher level ( p <0.02) of anti‐luciferase antibodies is achieved when cavitation is used versus N+S injection. Antibody levels against BSA, resulting from the use of BSA pCaN, are equivalent for the two groups. PCaN can be formed from a range of antigenic proteins and DNA can encode a range of antigenic proteins, so this approach has wide‐ranging implications for needle‐free vaccination.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sonofragmentation and sonocrystallization: How solids break and make in cavitating liquids

  The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2022-04-01 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Mechanical action can produce dramatic physical and mechanochemical effects when the energy is spatially or temporally concentrated. The application of ultrasound to crystallization (i.e., sonocrystallization) can dramatically affect the properties of the crystalline products. Sonocrystallization induces rapid nucleation, generally yields smaller crystals of a more narrow size distribution compared to quiescent crystallizations, and has become increasingly important in the pharmaceutical industry for the preparation of APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients). The control of morphology of the crystallization process is critical to reproducible dose response for APIs and is under increasing scrutiny in pharmaceutical manufacturing by the FDA. Ultrasound can induce significant improvement in the uniformity of crystallite size and rates of crystallization. We have developed a mechanistic understanding of the origin of these phenomena and begun to separate the details of the effects of ultrasound on nucleation, mass transport, shockwave fragmentation of crystallites, and inter-particulate collision. Decoupling experiments were performed to confirm that interactions between shockwaves and crystals are the main contributors to crystal breakage. We have discovered a mechanochemical extension the Bell–Evans–Polanyi principle: activation energies for solid fracture correlate with the binding energies of the solids.

  PublisherDOI

• Nanoparticle Optical Sensor Arrays: Gas Sensing and Biomedical Diagnosis

  Analysis & Sensing · 2022-09-20 · 12 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Abstract Chemical sensor arrays provide a simple but powerful means of creating detection specificity through pattern recognition of the responses from an array of highly cross‐reactive sensor elements. Optically responsive nanoparticles have emerged as a useful class of chemical sensors and enabled the development of real‐time, sensitive, cost‐effective and portable microdetectors for targeting biochemical analytes of interest. The unique and fascinating physicochemical properties of nanoparticles play a key role in building promising array‐based sensing platforms. This perspective will describe the principles, fabrication, and applications of various nanoparticle‐based optical sensor arrays. Choice of nanomaterials, optical signal transduction, array substrate and fabrication, as well as statistical data analyses will be elaborately discussed. As two major areas of applications, the detection of environmentally related volatiles and clinical use for biomedical diagnosis will be discussed in detail. Finally, the remaining challenges and future perspectives within this analytical topic will be highlighted.

  PublisherDOI

• Sonoluminescence as a probe of conditions during cavitation

  The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2021-10-01 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Acoustic cavitation occurs in all liquids irradiated with sufficient intensity of sound or ultrasound. The collapse of such bubbles creates local heating and provides a unique source of energy for driving chemical reactions. In addition to sonochemical bond scission and formation, cavitation also induces light emission in many liquids. This phenomenon of sonoluminescence (SL) and has captured the imagination of many researchers since it was first observed 85 years ago. SL provides a direct probe of cavitation events and has provided most of our understanding of the conditions created inside collapsing bubbles. Spectroscopic analyses of SL from single acoustically levitated bubbles as well as from clouds of bubbles have revealed molecular, atomic, and ionic line and band emission riding atop an underlying continuum arising from radiative plasma processes. These studies permit quantitative measurement of the intracavity conditions: relative peak intensities for temperature measurements, peak shifts and broadening for pressures, and peak asymmetries for plasma electron densities. Extraordinary conditions are generated inside the collapsing bubbles in ordinary room-temperature liquids – observable temperatures exceeding 15 000 K, pressures >1000 bar, and heating and cooling rates in excess of 1012 K/s. For clouds of cavitating bubbles, multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) reveal slightly more moderate local conditions inside bubble clouds of ∼5000 K, ∼300 atm. Biomedical applications of SL will be discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Sonofragmentation of Organic Molecular Crystals vs Strength of Materials

  The Journal of Organic Chemistry · 2021-03-15 · 11 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Mechanochemistry, the interface between the chemical and the mechanical worlds, includes the relationship between the chemical and mechanical properties of solids. In this work, fragmentation of organic molecular crystals during ultrasonic irradiation of slurries has been quantitatively investigated. This has particular relevance to nucleation processes during sonocrystallization, which is increasingly used in the processing and formulation of numerous pharmaceutical agents (PAs). We have discovered that the rates of sonofragmentation are very strongly correlated with the strength of the materials (as measured by Vickers hardness and Young's modulus). This is a mechanochemical extension of the Bell-Evans-Polanyi Principle or Hammond's Postulate: the kinetics (i.e., rates) of solid fracture correlate with thermodynamic properties of solids (e.g., Young's modulus). The mechanism of the particle breakage is consistent with a direct interaction between the shockwaves or localized microjets created by the ultrasound (through acoustic cavitation) and the solid particles in the slurry. Comparisons of the sonofragmentation patterns of ionic and molecular crystals showed that ionic crystals are more sensitive to sonofragmentation than molecular crystals for a given Young's modulus. The rates of sonofragmentation are proposed to correlate with the types and densities of imperfections in the crystals.

  PublisherDOI

• <b>Award Address </b>(Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical and Experimental Chemistry of Liquids sponsored by the ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company). Sonoluminescence: the Chemical History of a Bubble

  2020-03-31

  preprint1st authorCorresponding

  The water pollution due to oil and organic contaminants has emerged as a major environmental issue. Oil and organic pollution are contributed by various industries, household activities, and offshore oil production. History has witnessed some major devastating oil spill incidents during the rapid offshore oil movement. The oil-related contaminants can stay for a longer time and have a severe adverse effect on marine and human life. The conventional methods are facing problems due to their high cost, inefficiency, and source of secondary contaminants. There is a dire need to develop new efficient materials that can effectively separate the oil from water and has the capacity to scale up.&lt;br/&gt;One of the possible ways to separate the oil contaminants from the water by using porous hydrophobic and oleophilic surfaces. The hydrophobic and the oleophilic surfaces allow the passage of oil or non-polar organic contaminants from the water. The challenge associated with the development of hydrophobic surfaces is the complexity in synthesis and its stability. Synthesis of material through the naturally available sources is always attractive.&lt;br/&gt;The natural sunlight is an abundant natural source that carried out the great potential to drive the chemical reactions under a certain set of conditions. We built an amazing cost-efficient synthetic route by harvesting the natural sunlight to develop the hydrophobic surfaces that allowed the fast passage of the oil and prevented the water to pass. This was achieved by introducing the glass reactor and the suitable monomer that display the capacity to polymerize under the sunlight radiations.&lt;br/&gt;In brief, hydrophobic surfaces were prepared by harvesting the natural sunlight that initiated the polymerization of the styrene on the selected porous substrate in a glass reactor. This provides an extremely cost-effective route to prepare the hydrophobic surfaces. The surface area can be improved by adding various nanomaterials. The surfaces prepared by through this route can display the contact angle in the range of 126 u00b1 4u00b0 to 161u00b0 u00b1 2u00b0 according to the functionalities. The separation efficiency can be achieved for the various oil/water-based system in the range of 96 to 99 %. The developed porous materials can be used for the continuous separation of the oil spills and the spot absorption of the oil from the water.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• An Optoelectronic Nose for Artwork Monitoring

  NSF · $467k · 2012–2015

• NIH Grant R01HL025934

  NIH · $3.8M · 2004

• SST: Colorimetric MicroArrays for Detection of Toxic Industrial Chemicals

  NSF · $250k · 2005–2008

• New Sonochemical Methodologies for Nanostructured Materials

  NSF · $340k · 2009–2012

• NIH Grant U01ES016011

  NIH · $2.7M · 2013

Frequent coauthors

• William B. McNamara

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  38 shared

• Jon R. Askim

  National Institute of Standards

  29 shared

• Stephen A. Boppart

  University of Illinois System

  28 shared

• Zheng Li

  Hokkaido University

  26 shared

• Yuri T. Didenko

  26 shared

• Dana D. Dlott

  24 shared

• Mark W. Grinstaff

  Boston University

  22 shared

• Morteza Mahmoudi

  Harvard University

  20 shared

Labs

• Suslick Research GroupPI

Awards & honors

• Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences
• Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
• Distinguished Alumni Award, California Institute of Technolo…
• Theophilus Redwood Award, Royal Society of Chemistry
• Sir George Stokes Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry