Jeremy Treiber

All Publications

• Electrodiffusion through Pores in Supported Lipid Bilayers on PEDOT:PSS Electrodes: Bridging Equivalent Circuits and FEM Simulations. The journal of physical chemistry. B Mele, L. J., Treiber, J., Salleo, A. 2025

  Abstract

  Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) serve as essential model systems in studies of membrane biophysics, biosensing, and bioelectronic interfaces. In particular, SLBs formed on conductive polymer (CP) electrodes constitute a new platform to study ion transport across ion channels or the activity of pore-forming toxins through the use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). However, unavoidable pores in the SLB limit detection sensitivity in, e.g., biosensing applications. In this work, we rigorously assess the impact of such ion-conducting pathways on EIS measurements by combining an analytically derived equivalent circuit model (a-ECM) with finite-element-method (FEM) simulations. We start by considering simple, idealized conditions to build intuition regarding the pore-related resistance and capacitance contributions, directly comparing a-ECM predictions with full Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP)-based FEM simulations. Subsequently, we introduce additional complexities, including a thin water layer at the SLB/CP interface, SLB surface charge effects, and nonaxisymmetric pore locations, to progressively refine our model. Finally, by extending our analysis to a distribution of pores, we demonstrate how our insights can be used to estimate the pore size and density from experimental EIS data of SLBs formed on PEDOT:PSS electrodes. By bridging intuitive circuit models with accurate FEM simulations, our work provides practical guidelines for interpreting EIS spectra and extracting meaningful physical parameters associated with membrane pores.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5c06375

  View details for PubMedID 41324937

• Automated Label-Free Assay for Viral Detection and Inhibitor Screening via Biomembrane-Functionalized Microelectrode Arrays. Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) Lu, Z., Treiber, J., Kallitsis, K., Selivanovitch, E., Wheeler, A., Lopez-Cavestany, M., Chao, Z., Barron, S. L., Park, J. A., Hoven, D., Scheeder, A., Withers, A., Hess, B. M., Kaminski, C. F., Salleo, A., Pappa, A., Daniel, S., Owens, R. M. 2025: e01985

  Abstract

  Most virus infection assays have indirect readout such as virus number following entry (e.g., PCR, cell lysis). While effective, these technologies are labor-intensive, require specialized environments (e.g., sterile or RNA-free), and detect later-stage viral events like lysis or cell death, lacking sensitivity to early fusion events. To address these limitations, we present biologically relevant 2D membrane materials, host-cell-derived supported lipid bilayers (hcd-SLBs), integrated with organic microelectrode arrays (OMEAs) for detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)fusion. By overexpressing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors on the native membranes, the platform functions as a viral sensor capable of detecting virus pseudo particles (VPPs) through the late pathway. Additionally, hcd-SLBs extracted from human lung epithelium expressing native ACE2 detect fusion events through the early pathway. The platform's utility as a drug-screening tool is demonstrated by testing antibodies targeting either the ACE2 on the host membrane or the viral spike (S) proteins. To enhance the throughput, microfluidics are integrated for automation and OMEAs are incorporated within each channel, miniaturizing the testing units. This system supports high-throughput data generation, automation, and scalability, providing an efficient platform for viral fusion detection that advances the study of pathogen-host interactions and accelerates antiviral drug discovery.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adma.202501985

  View details for PubMedID 40808482

• Electrical Monitoring of <i>Vibrio vulnificus</i>-Host Cell Membrane Interactions in Simple and Complex Matrices ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES Wheeler, A., Lu, Z., Treiber, J., Salleo, A., Owens, R. M. 2025

  View details for DOI 10.1002/admi.202400996

  View details for Web of Science ID 001484883000001

• Polarized Intestinal Cell Membrane-on-Chip for Bacterial Toxin Interaction Studies ADVANCED NANOBIOMED RESEARCH Mccoy, R., Treiber, J., Malliaras, G. G., Salleo, A., Owens, R. M. 2025

  View details for DOI 10.1002/anbr.202400135

  View details for Web of Science ID 001419065000001

• Mucus-on-a-chip: investigating the barrier properties of mucus with organic bioelectronics. Journal of materials chemistry. B McCoy, R., Wang, K., Treiber, J., Fu, Y., Malliaras, G. G., Salleo, A., Owens, R. M. 2024

  Abstract

  Gastrointestinal (GI) mucus is a biologically complex hydrogel that acts as a partially permeable barrier between the contents of the GI tract and the mucosal epithelial lining. Its structural integrity is essential for the lubrication of the tract thereby aiding smooth transit of contents, and the protection of the epithelium from pathogens that seek to colonise and invade. Understanding its physical response to drugs and the microbiome is essential for treating many gastrointestinal infectious diseases. Given this, a static in vitro model of a GI mucus-on-a-chip has been developed with integrated electronics to monitor the barrier properties of mucus hydrogels. Its application for investigating the effect of drugs and biofilm formation on the mucus structure is validated using rheological techniques, confocal microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

  View details for DOI 10.1039/d4tb01351d

  View details for PubMedID 39575664

• Impact of Dilute DIO Additive on Local Microstructure of Fluorinated, pNDI-Based Polymer Solar Cells. Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) Cheng, C., Wu, Y., Cendra, C., Schneider, S., Treiber, J., Agarwala, P., Gomez, E. D., Bao, Z., Takacs, C., Toney, M. F., Salleo, A. 2024: e2409502

  Abstract

  The performance of all-polymer solar cells is often enhanced by incorporating solvent additives during solution processing. In particular, blends based on the model all-polymer system PBDBT:N2200 have been shown to have increased short-circuit current and fill factor when processed with dilute diiodooctane (DIO). However, the morphological mechanism that drives the increase in performance is often not well understood due to limitations in common characterization techniques. In this study, it is shown that a combination of X-ray techniques with cryogenic high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis can provide a quantitative and spatially resolved picture of polymer chain orientation and alignment in all-polymer blends. It is found that DIO induces vertical phase separation in PBDBT-2F:F-N2200 and increases donor crystallite thickness in the pi-stacking direction leading to an acceptor-rich film surface. However, it is also shown that DIO does not disrupt the formation of face-on donor-acceptor interfaces. These findings suggest that dilute DIO primarily affects crystalline domain formation in single component regions as opposed to mixed regions; thus, dilute DIO can impact vertical charge transport pathways without sacrificing donor-acceptor interfacial connectivity.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adma.202409502

  View details for PubMedID 39478654

• Origins of hydrogen peroxide selectivity during oxygen reduction on organic mixed ionic-electronic conducting polymers ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Duran, A., Liang, A., Denti, I., Yu, H., Pearce, D., Marks, A., Penn, E., Treiber, J., Weaver, K., Turaski, L., Maria, I. P., Griggs, S., Chen, X., Salleo, A., Chueh, W. C., Nelson, J., Giovannitti, A., Mefford, J. 2023

  View details for DOI 10.1039/d3ee02102e

  View details for Web of Science ID 001119466200001

• Multiparametric Sensing of Outer Membrane Vesicle-Derived Supported Lipid Bilayers Demonstrates the Specificity of Bacteriophage Interactions. ACS biomaterials science & engineering Bali, K., McCoy, R., Lu, Z., Treiber, J., Savva, A., Kaminski, C. F., Salmond, G., Salleo, A., Mela, I., Monson, R., Owens, R. M. 2023

  Abstract

  The use of bacteriophages, viruses that specifically infect bacteria, as antibiotics has become an area of great interest in recent years as the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics recedes. The detection of phage interactions with specific bacteria in a rapid and quantitative way is key for identifying phages of interest for novel antimicrobials. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from Gram-negative bacteria can be used to make supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) and therefore in vitro membrane models that contain naturally occurring components of the bacterial outer membrane. In this study, we employed Escherichia coli OMV derived SLBs and use both fluorescent imaging and mechanical sensing techniques to show their interactions with T4 phage. We also integrate these bilayers with microelectrode arrays (MEAs) functionalized with the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS and show that the pore forming interactions of the phages with the SLBs can be monitored using electrical impedance spectroscopy. To highlight our ability to detect specific phage interactions, we also generate SLBs using OMVs derived from Citrobacter rodentium, which is resistant to T4 phage infection, and identify their lack of interaction with the phage. The work presented here shows how interactions occurring between the phages and these complex SLB systems can be monitored using a range of experimental techniques. We believe this approach can be used to identify phages that work against bacterial strains of interest, as well as more generally to monitor any pore forming structure (such as defensins) interacting with bacterial outer membranes, and thus aid in the development of next generation antimicrobials.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c00021

  View details for PubMedID 37137156