Jason Kahn

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Bldg. 735
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-3090
jkahn@bnl.gov

Expertise | Research | Education | Appointments | Publications

Expertise

• Biomaterials
• Self-assembly
• Atomated materials synthesis
• Biotemplating
• Enzymatic catalysis
• DNA origami and struture synthesis
• DNA scaffold design

Research Activities

My research utilizes biomolecular self-assembly as a tool to explore broad questions and applications at the nanoscale. These topics bring together functional materials, including nanoparticles, quantum dots, proteins, and enzymes, with nanoscale structure mediated by DNA-self assembly, including both arbitrary organization and prescribed lattice ordering. Through marrying nanoscale functionality with prescribed order, we can begin to experimentally realize concepts that were previously unattainable through more traditional chemical methods. Our biomaterials program involves the development of automated synthesis platforms, including liquid handling equipment that combines synthesis and characterization, that will aid in guiding materials synthesis and serve as a resource to external users.

Education

• BS: Cornell University

                Biological engineering

• PhD: Cornell University

               Biological engineering, concentration in materials science

               Disseration Title: Engineering DNA Gels for Cell-Free Protein Production

Professional Appointments

• Postdoctoral Research: Columbia University                                                 

         Department of Chemical Engineering                                                                             

         Projects: Nanoscale structure synthesis, DNA-based lattice programming and scaffolded materials

• Postdoctoral Research: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 

         Institute of Chemistry                                                                                                 

         Projects: Biohybrid materials, programmed and stimuli-responsive materials synthesis

Selected Publications

• Tian Y, Lhermitte JR, Bai L, Vo T, Xin HL, Li H, Li R, Fukuto M, Yager KG, Kahn JS, Xiong Y, Minevich B, Kumar SK, Gang O (2020) Ordered three-dimensional nanomaterials using DNA-prescribed and valence-controlled material voxels. Nature Materials 19:789–796. doi: 10.1038/s41563-019-0550-x
• Kahn JS, Minevich B, Gang O (2020) Three-dimensional DNA-programmable nanoparticle superlattices. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 63:142–150. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.12.025
• De Fazio AF, El-Sagheer AH, Kahn JS, Nandhakumar I, Burton MR, Brown T, Muskens OL, Gang O, Kanaras AG (2019) Light-Induced Reversible DNA Ligation of Gold Nanoparticle Superlattices. ACS Nano 13:5771–5777. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b01294
• Kahn JS, Freage L, Enkin N, Garcia MAA, Willner I (2016) Stimuli-Responsive DNA-Functionalized Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). Advanced Materials 29:1602782. doi: 10.1002/adma.201602782
• Kahn JS, Hu Y, Willner I (2017) Stimuli-Responsive DNA-Based Hydrogels: From Basic Principles to Applications. Accounts of Chemical Research 50:680–690. doi: 10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00542
• Hu Y, Kahn JS, Guo W, Huang F, Fadeev M, Harries D, Willner I (2016) Reversible Modulation of DNA-Based Hydrogel Shapes by Internal Stress Interactions. Journal of the American Chemical Society 138:16112–16119. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b10458
• Cecconello A, Kahn JS, Lu C-H, Khosravi Khorashad L, Govorov AO, Willner I (2016) DNA Scaffolds for the Dictated Assembly of Left-/Right-Handed Plasmonic Au NP Helices with Programmed Chiro-Optical Properties. Journal of the American Chemical Society 138:9895–9901. doi: 10.1021/jacs.6b04096
• Kahn JS, Ruiz RCH, Sureka S, Peng S, Derrien TL, An D, Luo D (2016) DNA Microgels as a Platform for Cell-Free Protein Expression and Display. Biomacromolecules 17:2019–2026. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.6b00183
• Kahn JS, Trifonov A, Cecconello A, Guo W, Fan C, Willner I (2015) Integration of Switchable DNA-Based Hydrogels with Surfaces by the Hybridization Chain Reaction. Nano Letters 15:7773–7778. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04101