About

Patricia M. Dove is a University Distinguished Professor and the C.P. Miles Professor of Science at Virginia Tech, with her office located in Derring Hall. Her research focuses on understanding how organisms nucleate and grow crystalline and amorphous materials within their tissues to produce functional structures such as skeletons, shells, teeth, and other hard parts. Her experimental studies investigate the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of crystal nucleation and growth, specifically how functional groups and residues attached to polysaccharides, proteins, and other macromolecules influence the timing, placement, and polymorph of crystallization. Her work aims to elucidate the physical basis of biological crystallization and has applications in designing and synthesizing crystal-organic composite materials for drug delivery, tissue engineering, pharmaceuticals, and energy industries.

Research topics

• Organic chemistry
• Chemistry
• Chemical engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Environmental chemistry
• Crystallography
• Biochemistry
• Chromatography
• Mineralogy
• Materials science
• Physical chemistry
• Inorganic chemistry
• Polymer science

Selected publications

• Alginate–Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Hydrogels for Controlled Therapeutic Release

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• <i>In situ</i> transmission electron microscopy observations of CaCO ₃ crystallization onto polysaccharide-coated nanoparticles

  CrystEngComm · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  In situ observations of CaCO 3 formation near polysaccharides (PSs) using LP-TEM show nucleation is favored at PS–TEM membrane–solution interfaces. Timing and size are also dependent on macromolecular and solution properties of the interphase region.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Thermodynamics of calcium binding to heparin: Implications of solvation and water structuring for polysaccharide biofunctions

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-08-26 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Heparan sulfates are found in all animal tissues and have essential roles in living systems. This family of biomacromolecules modulates binding to calcium ions (Ca 2+ ) in low free energy reactions that influence biochemical processes from cell signaling and anticoagulant efficacy to biomineralization. Despite their ubiquity, the thermodynamic basis for how heparans and similarly functionalized biomolecules regulate Ca 2+ interactions is not yet established. Using heparosan (Control) and heparins with different positions of sulfate groups, we quantify how SO 3 − and COO − content and SO 3 − position modulate Ca 2+ binding by isothermal titration calorimetry. The free energy of all heparin-Ca 2+ interactions (Δ G rxn ) is dominated by entropic contributions due to favorable water release from polar, hydrophilic groups. Heparin with both sulfate esters ( O -SO 3 − ) and sulfamides ( N -SO 3 − ) has the strongest binding to Ca 2+ compared to heparosan and to heparin with only O -SO 3 − groups (~3X). By linking Ca 2+ binding thermodynamics to measurements of the interfacial energy for calcite (CaCO 3 ) crystallization onto polysaccharides, we show molecule-specific differences in nucleation rate can be explained by differences in water structuring during Ca 2+ interactions. A large entropic term (- T Δ S rxn ) upon Ca 2+ –polysaccharide binding correlates with high interfacial energy to CaCO 3 nucleation. Combining our measurements with literature values indicates many Ca 2+ –polysaccharide interactions have a shared thermodynamic signature. The resulting enthalpy–entropy compensation relationship suggests these interactions are generally dominated by water restructuring involving few conformational changes, distinct from Ca 2+ –protein binding. Our findings quantify the thermodynamic origins of heparin-specific interactions with Ca 2+ and demonstrate the contributions of solvation and functional group position during biomacromolecule-mediated ion regulation.

  PublisherDOI

• Kinetics of Calcite Nucleation onto Sulfated Chitosan Derivatives and Implications for Water–Polysaccharide Interactions during Crystallization of Sparingly Soluble Salts

  Crystal Growth & Design · 2024-07-11 · 7 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Anionic macromolecules are found at sites of CaCO3 biomineralization in diverse organisms, but their roles in crystallization are not well-understood. We prepared a series of sulfated chitosan derivatives with varied positions and degrees of sulfation, DS(SO3–), and measured calcite nucleation rate onto these materials. Fitting the classical nucleation theory model to the kinetic data reveals the interfacial free energy of the calcite–polysaccharide–solution system, γnet, is lowest for nonsulfated controls and increases with DS(SO3–). The kinetic prefactor also increases with DS(SO3–). Simulations of Ca2+–H2O–chitosan systems show greater water structuring around sulfate groups compared to uncharged substituents, independent of sulfate location. Ca2+–SO3– interactions are solvent-separated by distances that are inversely correlated with DS(SO3–) of the polysaccharide. The simulations also predict SO3– and NH3+ groups affect the solvation waters and HCO3– ions associated with Ca2+. Integrating the experimental and computational evidence suggests sulfate groups influence nucleation by increasing the difficulty of displacing near-surface water, thereby increasing γnet. By correlating γnet and net charge per monosaccharide for diverse polysaccharides, we suggest the solvent-separated interactions of functional groups with Ca2+ influence thermodynamic and kinetic components to crystallization by similar solvent-dominated processes. The findings reiterate the importance of establishing water structure and properties at macromolecule–solution interfaces.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• NO WAY TO SUGAR-COAT IT: SOLVENT STRUCTURING AT POLYSACCHARIDE-WATER INTERFACE INFLUENCES THE KINETICS OF CALCITE NUCLEATION

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2024-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Silica–Biomacromolecule Interactions: Toward a Mechanistic Understanding of Silicification

  Biomacromolecules · 2024-10-09 · 20 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Silica-organic composites are receiving renewed attention for their versatility and environmentally benign compositions. Of particular interest is how macromolecules interact with aqueous silica to produce functional materials that confer remarkable physical properties to living organisms. This Review first examines silicification in organisms and the biomacromolecule properties proposed to modulate these reactions. We then highlight findings from silicification studies organized by major classes of biomacromolecules. Most investigations are qualitative, using disparate experimental and analytical methods and minimally characterized materials. Many findings are contradictory and, altogether, demonstrate that a consistent picture of biomacromolecule-Si interactions has not emerged. However, the collective evidence shows that functional groups, rather than molecular classes, are key to understanding macromolecule controls on mineralization. With recent advances in biopolymer chemistry, there are new opportunities for hypothesis-based studies that use quantitative experimental methods to decipher how macromolecule functional group chemistry and configuration influence thermodynamic and kinetic barriers to silicification. Harnessing the principles of silica-macromolecule interactions holds promise for biocomposites with specialized applications from biomedical and clean energy industries to other material-dependent industries.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Chitosan as a Canvas for Studies of Macromolecular Controls on CaCO₃Biological Crystallization

  Biomacromolecules · 2023 · 17 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Chemistry
  • Nanotechnology
  • Chemical engineering

  crystallization onto chitinous materials and demonstrates that a broader understanding of macromolecular controls on mineralization has not emerged. With recent advances in biopolymer chemistry, it is now possible to prepare chitosan-based hydrogels with tailored functional group compositions. By deploying these characterized compounds in hypothesis-based studies of nucleation rate, quantitative relationships between energy barrier to crystallization, macromolecule composition, and solvent structuring can be determined. This foundational knowledge will help researchers understand composition-structure-function controls on mineralization in living systems and tune the designs of new materials for advanced applications.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Chitosan as canvas for studies of macromolecular controls on CaCO₃ biological crystallization

  2023-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Oxide– and Silicate–Water Interfaces and Their Roles in Technology and the Environment

  Chemical Reviews · 2023 · 186 citations

  • Chemistry
  • Chemical engineering
  • Nanotechnology

  Interfacial reactions drive all elemental cycling on Earth and play pivotal roles in human activities such as agriculture, water purification, energy production and storage, environmental contaminant remediation, and nuclear waste repository management. The onset of the 21st century marked the beginning of a more detailed understanding of mineral aqueous interfaces enabled by advances in techniques that use tunable high-flux focused ultrafast laser and X-ray sources to provide near-atomic measurement resolution, as well as by nanofabrication approaches that enable transmission electron microscopy in a liquid cell. This leap into atomic- and nanometer-scale measurements has uncovered scale-dependent phenomena whose reaction thermodynamics, kinetics, and pathways deviate from previous observations made on larger systems. A second key advance is new experimental evidence for what scientists hypothesized but could not test previously, namely, interfacial chemical reactions are frequently driven by "anomalies" or "non-idealities" such as defects, nanoconfinement, and other nontypical chemical structures. Third, progress in computational chemistry has yielded new insights that allow a move beyond simple schematics, leading to a molecular model of these complex interfaces. In combination with surface-sensitive measurements, we have gained knowledge of the interfacial structure and dynamics, including the underlying solid surface and the immediately adjacent water and aqueous ions, enabling a better definition of what constitutes the oxide- and silicate-water interfaces. This critical review discusses how science progresses from understanding ideal solid-water interfaces to more realistic systems, focusing on accomplishments in the last 20 years and identifying challenges and future opportunities for the community to address. We anticipate that the next 20 years will focus on understanding and predicting dynamic transient and reactive structures over greater spatial and temporal ranges as well as systems of greater structural and chemical complexity. Closer collaborations of theoretical and experimental experts across disciplines will continue to be critical to achieving this great aspiration.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Metastable solubility and local structure of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC)

  Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · 2020 · 67 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Chemistry
  • Mineralogy
  • Inorganic chemistry
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Unraveling the Complexity of Biosilicification Processes: Kinetic and Thermodynamic Controls of Organic Substrates on the Nucleation of Amorphous Silica

  NSF · $220k · 2006–2010

• Establishing a Baseline for Kinetic and Thermodynamic Origins of Vital Effects: The Interplay of Factors that Control Mg and Sr Signatures in Calcite

  NSF · $380k · 2005–2009

• Calcification by amorphous pathways: Establishing effects of acidification and interplays with Mg and biomolecule chemistry

  NSF · $419k · 2011–2015

Frequent coauthors

• James J. De Yoreo

  Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  73 shared

• A. F. Wallace

  Duke University

  28 shared

• N. Han

  23 shared

• James J. DeYoreo

  Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  23 shared

• A. E. Stephenson

  Virginia Tech

  23 shared

• G. V. Gibbs

  Virginia Tech

  21 shared

• Kevin M. Rosso

  Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  18 shared

• Anthony S. Wierzbicki

  St Thomas' Hospital

  18 shared

Labs

• Dove, PatriciaPI

Awards & honors

• 2022 International Mineralogical Association Medal for Excel…
• 2017 Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions to…
• 2014 Dana Medal, Mineralogical Society of America
• 2014 Hall of Distinction, Virginia Tech College of Science
• 2013 Governor of Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award