About

Ariel L. Furst is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Her research focuses on the development of new materials and methods for chemical and biological applications, emphasizing the understanding and control of molecular interactions at interfaces. She is involved in advancing knowledge in areas related to chemical engineering, with particular attention to the design and application of materials in biomedical and environmental contexts. Her work contributes to the broader field of chemical engineering by exploring innovative approaches to material science and interface phenomena, supporting the development of technologies with significant societal impact.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Biology
• Materials science
• Microbiology
• Biochemical engineering
• Intensive care medicine
• Nanotechnology
• Business
• Internal medicine
• Engineering
• Virology
• Medicine
• Risk analysis (engineering)

Selected publications

• Electrochemically Active Microorganisms

  ACS in focus · 2026-01-20

  bookSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Metal-phenolic networks improve interfacial electron transfer in bio-electrochemical systems

  npj Biosensing · 2026-05-07

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Multi-enzyme electrocatalytic cascades often suffer from poor electron-transfer efficiency, limiting their utility. We overcome this critical challenge by integrating an interfacial metal–phenolic network (MPN) layer with tunable properties based on the metal and polyphenol employed. Upon electropolymerization, MPNs provide a stable matrix for co-immobilizing glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase, enhancing their tandem activity. Through systematic evaluation of the impact of MPN composition on electron transfer, we demonstrate the tunability of these materials for cascade-specific optimization. This simple material is expected to support diverse enzymatic reactions important for technologies ranging from bioenergy to biosensing.

  PublisherDOI

• Lanmodulin‐Decorated Microbes for Efficient Lanthanide Recovery (Adv. Mater. 10/2025)

  Advanced Materials · 2025-03-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  E?cient Lanthanide Recovery In article number 2412607, Ariel Furst and co-workers report microbes decorated with the protein lanmodulin (LanM) as a displayed protein material for high-efficiency rare earth element recovery. This material serves as a low-cost, robust approach to enable environmentally-friendly recycling and retrieval of critical elements.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Understanding Interface-Driven Dynamics of Microbial Carbonate Precipitation through DNA-Driven Tethering

  ChemRxiv · 2025-10-30

  articleSenior author

  The energy- and carbon-intensity of cement production and maintenance is prohibitive for the growing global demand. A key sustainable alternative is microbially-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP), a biological process performed by many diverse microbes, most often at abiotic interfaces. Most studies of MICP have relied on bulk solution conditions, which fail to replicate the native environment of these microbes. By tethering microbes to abiotic substrates using DNA as “Velcro,” MICP at an abiotic interface can be effectively studied and controlled. The precipitate generated at these interfaces shows key morphological and kinetic differences from that generated in bulk solution. These differences highlight the critical need for approaches to enable the study of sustainable processes in relevant conditions. Our DNA “Velcro” approach serves as a universal method to generate microbial monolayers at abiotic interfaces, enabling the study of their behavior under relevant conditions. These learnings further support technology scaling, enabling decarbonization of sectors associated with extremely high emissions.

  PublisherDOI

• Introduction to “Biomolecular Technologies”

  RSC Chemical Biology · 2025-01-01

  editorialOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  As both chemical and biological engineering approaches continue to expand, the landscape of biomolecular technologies is rapidly evolving, affording new opportunities from basic science to real-world applications. This themed collection brings together engineered biomolecule-based technologies spanning small molecules, nucleic acids, and proteins, with applications in biocatalysis, biosensing, and synthetic biology. Each study showcases the modular and tunable nature of biomolecular design to tailor properties for function in both aqueous solutions and biological environments, as summarized below.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Fast, Simple Electrochromic Biosensors for Point-of-Use Infectious Disease Diagnosis

  Analytical Chemistry · 2025-07-29

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Rapid and accurate diagnostics are essential for controlling infectious diseases, especially in low-resource settings. To enable broad implementation, there is a pressing need for point-of-use sensors that offer high sensitivity, portability, and user-friendliness. Electrochemical technologies, namely bipolar electrode (BPE) sensors, are promising because of their sensitivity and simplicity. However, traditional BPE sensors require complex equipment, hindering portability. Here, we present an electrochromic, BPE-based nucleic acid sensor that enables detection without additional equipment, making it ideal for point-of-care (POC) testing. Low cost, easily fabricated gold leaf electrodes are used as the substrate for electrochromic sensing. Through a nanostructuring step, the surface area of the gold is significantly increased, boosting the surface area for DNA probe immobilization and producing detectable color signals. These electrodes are integrated with microfluidics and a lithium-ion battery to yield an integrated system, which enables on-site, real-time viral detection with simplified preparation and detection on a single chip. We demonstrate sequence specific detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) followed by Cas12a-mediated cleavage of ferrocene-tagged probes, offering a low-cost, equipment-free, and accurate diagnostic tool for infectious disease detection in resource-limited settings.

  PublisherDOI

• A universal surface functionalization technique to chemically enhance live microbial cells

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-09-17

  preprintOpen access

  Abstract Microbial surface functionalization is a powerful strategy for endowing microbes with novel, non-genetic functions. However, existing methods are often species-specific, limited in scope, and compromise cell viability. Here, we present a universal and modular platform for high-density, reproducible surface functionalization across diverse microbial species—including Gram-positive, Gram-negative, aerobic, and anaerobic bacteria—using multiple molecular classes such as fluorophores, enzymes, and nucleic acids. Our method preserves cell viability, and achieves 50x higher functionalization efficiency than previous methods with a standardized protocol applicable to any azide-containing molecule. Applications of the method show reproducible and tunable phenotypic outcomes at the single-cell level: fluorophore labeling yielded adjustable fluorescence, β-lactamase conferred scalable antibiotic resistance, and DNA coatings modulated adhesion and aggregation. This platform provides quantitative, non-genetic control over microbial phenotypes and complements genetic engineering approaches. It enables new possibilities for microbial design in biotechnology, medicine, and environmental applications where genetic modification is impractical or undesirable.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Engineering Electrode Surfaces Using Electroactive Bacteria Pyrolysis

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2025-07-11

  articleSenior author

  Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of organic matter in the absence of oxygen 1 . This high-temperature process has been shown to produce carbon structures from photoresist since the 1990s. Using this technique, the photoresist is thermally reacted at high temperatures of 600 to 1100°C, forming a film with electrochemically active surfaces, providing glassy carbon-like properties. It has been demonstrated that better electrocatalytic behavior is obtained with carbon films prepared at the higher pyrolysis temperatures due to a differences in composition 1 . Additionally, pyrolysis has also been widely demonstrated for biowaste and various biomaterials. It is shown to be versatile, user-friendly, and has the potential for enhancement 1-3 . In this work, Shewanella Oneidensis bacterial biofilms are shown to provide conductive surfaces with properties that depend on the pyrolysis temperature in the range of 600 to 1100°C. The pyrolysis was carried out in a closed ceramic tube furnace under a 200mTorr vacuum at a heating rate of 5°C/ min. The pyrolysis process was characterized using thermogravimetric analysis and the resulting films were characterized by SEM, 4-point probe, Raman Spectroscopy, as well as by electrochemical characterization. This approach leverages the unique capabilities of S. oneidensis in metal ion reduction and nanoparticle biosynthesis, potentially allowing for the incorporation of catalytic nanoparticles within the electrode structure. The flexibility and distinctive properties of these biofilm-derived electrodes open up new possibilities for electrochemical CO 2 reduction and broader energy research applications, potentially contributing to the development of more efficient and selective catalytic systems for CO 2 utilization in a circular carbon economy. (1) Kim, J.; Song, X.; Kinoshita, K.; Madou, M.; White, R. Electrochemical Studies of Carbon Films from Pyrolyzed Photoresist. J. Electrochem. Soc. 1998 , 145 (7), 2314–2319. (2) Mohan, D.; Pittman, C. U.; Steele, P. H. Pyrolysis of Wood/Biomass for Bio-Oil: A Critical Review. Energy Fuels 2006 , 20 (3), 848–889. (3) Wang, G.; Dai, Y.; Yang, H.; Xiong, Q.; Wang, K.; Zhou, J.; Li, Y.; Wang, S. A Review of Recent Advances in Biomass Pyrolysis. Energy Fuels 2020 , 34 (12), 15557–15578.

  PublisherDOI

• Genetic Surfaceome <i>E. coli</i> Reprogramming Enables Selective Water Oxidation (Adv. Mater. 47/2025)

  Advanced Materials · 2025-11-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Selective Water Oxidation Surface display of a multicopper oxidase on Escherichia coli shifts the enzyme's activity equilibrium toward oxygen evolution over oxygen reduction, enabling efficient electrocatalytic OER with these proteins. More details can be found in the Research Article by Frank N. Crespilho, Ariel L. Furst, and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202508100).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Bioelectrochemical Systems: Prioritizing Energy Density, Long-Term Stability, and Validation

  ACS Energy Letters · 2025-08-20 · 7 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Pioneering work in bioelectrochemistry, particularly the employing of yeast cells to generate electrical current, had substantially favored the comprehension of bioelectrochemical reactions. This foundational research has boosted the development of bioelectrochemical systems (BES), which are significant for sustainable energy solutions. BES technologies, such as biobatteries, biosupercapacitors, and enzymatic and microbial biofuel cells, harness organic and biological systems to provide environmentally-friendly alternatives for energy storage and conversion. Despite their potential, these technologies face challenges in achieving competitive energy densities and long-term stability compared to traditional accumulators and converters. Here, we introduce a new Ragone plot for BES, highlight the pathways to overcome key challenges, and compare BES with traditional technologies. A roadmap outlining future directions for BES development is also presented.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Gang Fan

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  21 shared

• Matthew B. Francis

  University of California, Berkeley

  21 shared

• Marjon Zamani

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  17 shared

• Amruta Karbelkar

  Dartmouth College

  12 shared

• Michael G. Hill

  Occidental College

  10 shared

• Pris Wasuwanich

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  9 shared

• Jacqueline K. Barton

  California Institute of Technology

  9 shared

• Thomas Mark Gill

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  9 shared

Labs

• Ariel L. FurstPI

Education

• Ph.D., Chemical Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1990

• B.S., Chemical Engineering

  University of California, Berkeley

  1985

Awards & honors

• C&EN: Talented Twelve, 2025
• Jonathan L. Sessler Fellowship, 2025
• Sloan Research Fellowship, 2025
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2024
• AIChE, Women in Chemical Engineering (WIC) Rising Star, 2023