Merck Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Education:
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1998
M.S., Chemical Engineering Practice, MIT, 1995
B.S., Chemical Engineering, with Distinction, Stanford University, 1993

Career Highlights:
Kane joined Rensselaer in 2001 after completing a post-doctorate in chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University.

Among the recent honors he has received are the Rensselaer School of Engineering Excellence in Research Award (2004), the National Science Foundation Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSF-NSEC) Research Seed Award (2003), and an American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS-PRF) New Faculty Grant (2002). He also was the recipient of the Outstanding Seminar Award from the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT in 1997 and received an NSF graduate fellowship. Kane has been elected to the Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Beta Kappa honor societies.

Research Areas:
Kane’s group is involved in research at the interface of biotechnology and nanotechnology. The group is working on the engineering of therapeutics – polyvalent molecules and viral gene delivery vectors – and the molecular engineering of biosurfaces and nanostructures.

Polyvalent interactions, characterized by the simultaneous binding of multiple ligands on one entity to multiple receptors on another are ubiquitous in biology. Polyvalent interactions can be collectively much stronger than the corresponding monovalent interactions. The concept of polyvalency can also be utilized to design molecules that efficiently antagonize biological interactions (such as those between a virus and its target cell) and serve as potent pharmaceuticals. The Kane group is interested in designing polyvalent inhibitors for several diseases including AIDS and anthrax.

Kane’s nanobiotechnology work involves designing self-assembled nanoscale materials that can serve as multivalent cellular effectors – materials that activate biological processes and promote cellular responses. Members are studying the fundamentals of the interaction between proteins and nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes. They also are investigating applications of nanostructured materials in biosensing as well as pattern formation in aligned carbon nanotube films.

One of the most promising approaches to gene delivery utilizes the natural ability of viruses to deliver their DNA to human cells. However, the antibody-mediated clearance of the vectors, and their broad tropism, are major obstacles preventing clinical gene therapy. Kane’s group is interested in developing strategies to overcome these obstacles, thereby paving the way for human gene therapy. The group is also interested in designing novel biocompatible surfaces that prevent the adsorption of proteins and the attachment of bacteria.

Kane’s group also is conducting microfabrication and microfluidics research. He is using soft lithographic microfabrication techniques to control the differentiation of stem cells for applications in tissue engineering. Members are developing novel microfluidic strategies for the separation of DNA.

Selected Publications:
N. Chakrapani, B. Wei, A. Carrillo, P.M. Ajayan, and R.S. Kane, “Capillarity Driven Assembly of Two-Dimensional Cellular Carbon Nanotube Foams,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, (USA), 101, 4009, (2004).

M. Mourez, R.S. Kane, J. Mogridge, S.M. Metallo, P. Deschatelets, B.R. Sellman, G.M. Whitesides, and J. Collier, “Designing a Polyvalent Inhibitor of Anthrax Toxin,” Nature Biotechnology, 19, (10), 958-961, (2001).

R.S. Kane, P. Deschatelets, and G.M. Whitesides, “Kosmotropes Form the Basis of Protein-Resistant Surfaces,” Langmuir, 19, (6), 2388-2391, (2003).

A. Stroock, R.S. Kane, M. Weck, S.J. Metallo, and G.M. Whitesides, “Synthesis of Free-Standing Quasi-Two-Dimensional Polymers,” Langmuir, 19, (6), 2466-2472, (2003).

R.S. Kane, A. Stroock, N.L. Jeon, D.E. Ingber, and G.M. Whitesides, “Microfluidics,” in Optical Biosensors: Present and Future, Eds. Ligler and Rowe-Taitt, 571-595, (2002).

R.S. Kane, P.T. Glink, R.G. Chapman, C. McDonald, P. Jensen, H. Gao, L. Pasa-Tolic, R.D. Smith, and G.M. Whitesides, “Basicity of the Amino Groups of the Aminoglycoside Amikacin Using Capillary Electrophoresis and Coupled CE-MS-MS Techniques,” Analytical Chemistry, 73, (16), 4028-4036, (2001).

D.T. Chiu, N.L. Jeon, S. Huang, R.S. Kane, C.J. Wargo, I.S. Choi, D.E. Ingber, and G.M. Whitesides, “Patterned Deposition of Cells and Proteins onto Surfaces by Using Three-dimensional Microfluidic Systems,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), 97, 2408, (2000).

E. Ostuni, R.S. Kane, C.S. Chen, D.E. Ingber, and G.M. Whitesides, “Patterning Mammalian Cells Using Elastomeric Membranes,” Langmuir, 16, (20), 7811-7819, (2000).

R.S. Kane, S. Takayama, E. Ostuni, D.E. Ingber, and G.M. Whitesides, “Patterning Proteins and Cells Using Soft Lithography,” Biomaterials, 20, 2363, (1999).

S. Joly, R.S. Kane, L. Radzilowski, T. Wang, A. Wu, R.E. Cohen, E.L. Thomas, and M.F. Rubner, “Multilayer Nanoreactors for Metallic and Semiconducting Particles,” Langmuir, 16, (3), 1354-1359, (2000).

Contact Information:
Ravi S. Kane
(518) 276-2536
kaner@rpi.edu
http://www.eng.rpi.edu/soe/directory_faculty_details.cfm?facultyID=kaner