About

Lane Baker is a professor and the Department Head at the Department of Chemistry within the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M University. His research group focuses on electrochemical measurement and instrumentation, with particular attention to ion transport and electron transfer at small scales. His work involves developing electrochemical imaging applications utilizing Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy (SICM), which employs nanoscale pipettes for local interrogation, enabling quantitative analytical and electrochemical measurements. His research encompasses single-entity electrochemical measurements, including ion transport at biological interfaces and electron transfer at catalytic nanoparticles. Additional research interests include surface charge at the nanoscale, electrospray from nanoscale emitters, high-throughput analysis methods, applications of machine learning for electrochemical data interpretation, and the development of new carbon materials for electrochemistry. Dr. Baker has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2024 Spiers Memorial Lecture from Faraday Discussions, the 2023 Charles N. Reilley Award from the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry, and fellowships with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society. His contributions significantly advance the understanding and development of electrochemical measurement techniques and their applications in biology, materials science, and environmental science.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry
• Artificial Intelligence
• Physical chemistry
• Materials science
• Organic chemistry
• Process engineering
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Biochemical engineering
• Chemical engineering
• Crystallography
• Optics

Selected publications

• Correlative multimode electrochemical imaging of biological interfaces

  2026-03-05

  articleSenior author

  We report electrochemical imaging and mapping, achieved via a new approach correlated with optical microscopy. A three-point calibration and affine transformation are utilized to correlate pixel locations registered in optical images with pipette position. The approach has wide application to mapping stiffness of biological interfaces and to measurement of local electrochemical reactivity. This talk will describe our implementation and applications of the approach.

  PublisherDOI

• Size and Shape Effects on Nanoparticle-Catalyzed Reactions Enabled by High-Throughput Variable-Temperature Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

  Analytical Chemistry · 2025-09-02 · 2 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Nanoparticles exhibit unique catalytic properties that are highly dependent on their size and shape, influencing reaction rates, selectivity, and efficiency. Identifying the structural effects that achieve a high catalytic performance is critical to a wide range of applications, from energy conversion to environmental remediation. High-throughput screening (HTS) methods, particularly desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS), offer a powerful approach for rapidly assessing the catalytic performance of nanoparticles with varying sizes and shapes. DESI-MS enables the direct analysis of reaction products without sample preparation, making it ideal for screening homogeneous catalytic reactions. However, applying this technique to heterogeneous catalysts remains challenging, and the lack of temperature control limits its ability to reflect realistic reaction conditions. In this article, we present the development of high-throughput variable-temperature DESI-MS (HT-vT-DESI-MS), a novel approach that combines DESI-MS with thin-film reaction acceleration and precise temperature control. This advancement allows the study of size and shape effects on nanoparticle-catalyzed reactions under varied conditions, offering a rapid understanding of structural parameters influencing catalytic performance. Our results show that varying the size of cubic Pd nanoparticles from 10 to 20 nm significantly impacts catalytic activity in Suzuki cross-coupling and indole arylation reactions, with distinct changes in both the effective surface area and Pd concentration. For both reactions, the reactivity trend normalized to the effective surface area was 10 nm cubic > 15 nm cubic > 20 nm cubic and normalized to the NP number was 20 nm cubic > 15 nm cubic > 10 nm cubic. Additionally, altering the nanoparticle shape from cubic to octahedral results in a marked decrease in product conversion, highlighting the critical role that nanoparticle morphology plays in determining catalytic efficiency. This research provides a HTS method for nanoparticle catalysts that can accelerate identification of design principles for their use in various catalytic applications.

  PublisherDOI

• In Conversation: Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy (SECCM) Meets Mass Spectrometry

  ACS electrochemistry. · 2025-07-03 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Scanning Electrochemical Cell Microscopy for Sub-Micrometer Mass Spectrometric Studies of Electrochemical Reactions

  ACS electrochemistry. · 2025-04-21 · 6 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Nanoscale electrochemistry has been significantly advanced through the utilization of nanopipettes, enabling precise electrode area confinement and localized measurements. In particular, scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) has leveraged the use of nanopipettes to facilitate measurement of electrochemical processes with high spatiotemporal resolution. While nano electrochemistry is well-suited to study processes at the sub-micrometer level, there is a need for complementary analytical techniques that can enable the detection of intermediates and help to elucidate reaction pathways that occur in the small volumes. In this work, we demonstrate the coupling of SECCM with MS for the detection of reaction products formed by the oxidation of uric acid. Specifically, species generated at the tip of an SECCM probe could be delivered to a mass spectrometer via nanoelectrospray ionization and exhibit both stable ion signal and high sensitivity. We demonstrate that this workflow enables the detection of analytes generated from SECCM probes of 3 μm and 900 nm tip diameter, despite the low conversion ratio associated with the smaller nanopipette diameters. Results presented herein demonstrate the SECCM-MS workflow as a powerful approach to detect low-abundance species formed from micro- and nanoscale electrochemical reactions.

  PublisherDOI

• 3D-printed accessories for nano/microelectrodes

  Analytical Methods · 2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Rapid prototyping and 3D-printed devices have become important enabling technologies for measurement science. Work presented here aims to add to the 3D-printed toolset by demonstrating the economical production and application of printed centrifuge and electrode holders for micro and nanoelectrodes. These holders provide freedom of configuration and design and can also circumvent availability issues which may exist for commercial electrode holders. Here we demonstrate 3D-printed centrifuge holders which aid in filling small pipettes with fluid and 3D-printed electrode holders used both in electroanalytical probe characterization and in scanning ion conductance microscopy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Learning from Metal Nanocrystal Heterogeneity: A Need for Information-Rich and High-Throughput Single-Nanocrystal Measurements

  ACS Nanoscience Au · 2025-07-16 · 3 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Metal nanocrystals (NCs) show utility in a variety of applications due to their unique structure-dependent properties. Isolating these structure-property relationships is crucial for NC design, but heterogeneities present in NC ensembles as well as limitations in NC characterization strategies complicate this goal. Herein, we describe the various types of intraparticle and interparticle heterogeneities common to NC ensembles and then provide a detailed description and comparison of single-particle techniques that can be used to characterize these different heterogeneities. Case studies then showcase the use of multimodal characterization approaches, where multiple, primarily single-NC techniques are used in tandem to provide new insights into metal NC structure-property relationships. We conclude with a critique of single-NC techniques that motivates the development of new high-throughput and high-resolution single-NC characterization approaches as well as computational tools, with a proposed workflow outlined to accelerate NC design and discovery.

  PublisherDOI

• Systems nanoelectrochemistry from single entity to ensemble: general discussion

  Faraday Discussions · 2025-01-01

  article

  Kim McKelvey opened discussion of the paper by Paolo Actis: Can you expand on why you see enhanced signals for nanoparticle translocations when you have a large concentration of polyethylene glycol (PEG) present? Paolo Actis answered: We have discussed the mechanism in detail in

  PublisherDOI

• Correction: Bridging colloidal and electrochemical syntheses of metal nanocrystals with seeded electrodeposition for tracking single nanocrystal growth

  Nanoscale · 2025-01-01

  erratumOpen access

  Correction for ‘Bridging colloidal and electrochemical syntheses of metal nanocrystals with seeded electrodeposition for tracking single nanocrystal growth’ by Ekta Verma et al. , Nanoscale , 2024, 16 , 8002–8012, https://doi.org/10.1039/D4NR00202D.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Microfluidic Determination of Cell-Derived ATP and Single Cell Pressure Mapping Confirms Benefits of Normoglycemic Stored Red Blood Cells

  ACS Measurement Science Au · 2025-07-03

  articleOpen access

  In the United States, ∼30,000 units of red blood cells (RBCs) are transfused daily to patient recipients. These RBCs are stored in one of multiple variations of media known as additive solutions, all of which contain glucose at concentrations well above physiological levels. Recently, strategies for storage of the RBCs in normoglycemic versions of the additive solutions whose glucose levels are maintained with periodic boluses of glucose were developed, resulting in benefits to the stored RBCs. Here, we describe a system capable of semiautonomous, Wi-Fi-enabled control of glucose delivery using a microperistaltic pump for maintenance of physiological concentrations of glucose in a closed RBC storage system. The RBCs stored in these normoglycemic conditions demonstrated reduced lysis and reduced hemoglobin glycation in comparison to those of the currently used hyperglycemic additive solutions. Furthermore, a novel single cell technique using pressure-induced conductivity mapping showed an improved Young's modulus for those RBCs stored in normoglycemic solutions. These quantitative measurements of the RBCs' chemical and physical properties coincide with improvements in cell functionality. Specifically, determinations of RBC-derived ATP using a 3D-printed microfluidic device show an increased release of ATP for RBCs stored in normoglycemic solutions in comparison to hyperglycemic storage, even for cells that were 2 weeks past a storage expiration of 42 days.

  PublisherDOI

• BPS2025 - Copper-mediated lipid binding tunes TRAAK function

  Biophysical Journal · 2025-02-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Electrochemical Imaging of in vitro Tight Junctions with Scanning Ion Conductance

  NIH · $402k · 2010–2013

• From single molecule to microfluidic 3D tissue platforms: novel multiscale tools to investigate hyper-stimulated immune cells in the circulation

  NIH · $434k · 2018–2023

• Electrochemical Imaging with Ion Channels

  NSF · $730k · 2018–2022

• From single molecule to microfluidic 3D tissue platforms: novel multiscale tools to investigate hyper-stimulated immune cells in the circulation

  NIH · $444k · 2018–2023

• MRI: Acquisition of a Nanoimprint Lithography Instrument for Research and Education

  NSF · $459k · 2017–2021

Frequent coauthors

• Wenqing Shi

  52 shared

• Charles R. Martin

  University of Florida

  36 shared

• Anumita Saha-Shah

  Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA (United States)

  30 shared

• Zuzanna S. Siwy

  Walker (United States)

  29 shared

• Lushan Zhou

  Indiana University Bloomington

  28 shared

• Cheng Zhu

  Indiana University Bloomington

  24 shared

• Richard M. Crooks

  Antrim Area Hospital

  20 shared

• Hideo Tokuhisa

  20 shared

Education

• PhD Chemistry, Chemistry

  Texas A&M University

  2001

• BS Chemistry, Chemistry

  Missouri State University

  1996

Awards & honors

• 2024 Spiers Memorial Lecture, Faraday Discussions
• 2023 Charles N. Reilley Award, Society for Electroanalytical…
• 2022 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Sci…
• 2021 Fellow, American Chemical Society
• 2021 Award in Electrochemistry, Division of Analytical Chemi…