Macromolecular Science
and Engineering Center

  • Mark M. Banaszak Holl
  • Department of Chemistry
  • Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine &
  • Biological Sciences
  • Macromolecular Science & Engineering Center
  • 930 N. University Avenue
  • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1055

Short Biosketch

Mark Banaszak Holl holds a Ph.D in Chemistry (1991) from Cornell University and a B.S. with honors in chemistry (1986) from the University of Chicago. As an undergraduate and graduate student he did research in the area of synthetic inorganic chemistry with Profs. Gregory Hillhouse and Peter Wolczanski, respectively. He worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Laboratory in the surface physics group with F. Read McFeely. He joined the chemistry faculty at Brown University in 1992 as an assistant professor and moved to the University of Michigan in 1995 as an assistant professor of chemistry and Macromolecular Science and Engineering. He was promoted to professor in 2004. Banaszak Holl’s laboratory pursues the use of polymer-based platforms (dendrimers) for targeted drug delivery and delivery of genes. The lab is also exploring the mechanisms of how polymers interact with cell membranes and mechanisms of cytotoxicity. Key techniques currently employed include polymer synthesis and conjugation, scanning probe microscopies, cell-level assays and flow cytometry, confocal laser scanning microscopy, patch clamp, and molecular mechanics/molecular dynamics simulations. The lab has close collaborations for biomedical research with the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences (MNiMBS).

Awards/Honors

Current Research

Research in the Banaszak Holl group has been supported by NIH, NSF, Dow-Corning, and IBM.

Targeted Chemotherapeutics

Poly(amidoamine) dendrimers are conjugated with targeting agents, drugs, and dyes to generating multifunctional therapeutic and imaging agents. The nanoscale platforms are functionalized with multiple targeting agents and drugs to enable multivalent interactions with their biological targets.

Polymer/Membrane Interactions

The interaction of polymers with the cell plasma membrane is explore with a variety of techniques including scanning probe microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, flow cytometry, patch clamp, and MM/MD simulations. We are exploring the ability of polymers to induce nanoscale holes in cell membranes and the relationship of this process to cell transfection, gene therapy, and cytotoxicity.

List of Recent and Top Cited Publications

  1. S. Hong, P. R. Leroueil, I. Majoros, B. G. Orr, J. R. Baker, Jr., M. M. Banaszak Holl, "The Binding Avidity of a Nanoparticle-Base Multivalent Targeted Drug Delivery Platform." Chemistry and Biology 14, 107-115 (2007)
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  2. X. Shi, X. Bi, T. R. Ganser, S. Hong, L. A. Myc, A. Desai, M. M. Banaszak Holl, J. R. Baker., "HPLC analysis of functionalized poly(amidoamine) dendrimers and the interaction between a folate-dendrimer conjugate and folate binding protein." The Analyst 131, 842-848 (2006)
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  3. S. Hong, P. R. Leroueil, E. K. Janus, J. L. Peters, M.-M. Kober, M .T. Islam, B. G. Orr, J. R. Baker, Jr., and M. M. Banaszak Holl., "Interaction of Polycationic Polymers with Supported Lipid Bilayers and Cells: Nanoscale Hole Formation and Enhanced Membrane Permeability." Bioconjugate Chemistry 17, 728-734 (2006)
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  4. S. Hong, J. A. Hessler, M. M. Banaszak Holl, P. Leroueil, A. Mecke, B .G. Orr., "Physical Interactions of Nanoparticles with Biological Membranes:The Observation of Nanoscale Hole Formation. " Chemical Health and Safety 13, 16-20 (2006)
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  5. A. Mecke, B. G. Orr, M. M. Banaszak Holl, J. R. Baker Jr., "Lipid Bilayer Disruption by Polyamidoamine Dendrimers: The Role of Generation and Capping Group. " Langmuir 21, 10348-10354 (2005)
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  6. A. Mecke, D.-K. Lee, R. Ramamoorthy, B. G. Orr, and M. M. Banaszak Holl., "Synthetic and natural polycationic polymers interact selectively with fluid phase domains of DMPC lipid bilayers. " Langmuir 21, 8588-8590 (2005)
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  7. . Mecke, S. Uppuluri, T. J. Sassanella, B. G. Orr, M. M. Banaszak Holl, J. R. Baker. , "Direct Observation of Lipid Bilayer Disruption by Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimers. " Chemistry and Physics of Lipids 132, 3-14 (2004)
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  8. S. Hong, A. U. Bielinska, A. Mecke, B. Keszler, J. L. Beals, X. Shi, L. Balogh, B. G. Orr, J. R. Baker Jr., and M. M. Banaszak Holl. , "The Interaction of Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) Dendrimers with Supported Lipid Bilayers and Cells: Hole Formation and the Relation to Transport. " Bioconjugate Chemistry 15, 774-782 (2004)
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  9. A. Mecke, I. Lee, J. R. Baker Jr., M. M. Banaszak Holl, B. G. Orr, "Deformability of Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimers." European Physical Journal E – Soft Matter 14, 7-16 (2004)
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Teaching