Swain Research Group

We thank you for your interest in our research group at Michigan State University. We encourage you to explore this website to learn more about our interdisciplinary research and the students who are engaged in the projects.

Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WI4v_OoAAAAJ&hl=en

ResearcherID: B-302302010   http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-3023-2010

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6498-8351

 

Current MSU Affiliations:

Professor - Department of Chemistry (analytical)

Director of the RECR Education Program, Office of Research and Innovation (2023-present)

RECR Education Coordinator, The Graduate School (2019-present)

Director, NSF REU Site:  Cross-Disciplinary Research in Sustainable Chemistry and Chemical Processes (2014 - 2025)

MSU Fraunhofer - Center for Coatings and Diamond Technologies

 

International Affiliations:

Visiting Guest Professor, Gdansk University of Technology (Poland), 2025

Special Visiting Professor, Keio University (Japan), 2023

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Short-Term Research Fellow (2020-2021)

Fulbright Specialist - Czech Republic (2018)

Visiting Professor, Domaine Universitaire, Grenoble, France (summer 2001) 

Special Visiting Researcher (CAPES), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (Brazil), 2013-2016

 

Service:

Academic Advancement Network Leadership Fellow, MSU (2018-2019)

Member MSU Steering Committee (2017-2020)

At-Large Member MSU Faculty Senate (2017-2020)

At-Large Member MSU University Council (2017-2020)

ACS Committee on Professional Training, Member (2015-2020)

Editor-in-Chief, Elecroanalysis (Wiley), 2021-present

Editor, Electroanalysis, 2019-2021

Associate Editor, Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, 2014-present

Advisory Board, Advanced Engineering Materials, 2014-present

Editor-in-Chief, Diamond and Related Materials (Elsevier), 2011-2014

Editor, Diamond and Related Materials, 2009-2011

Editorial Board, Diamond and Related Materials (Elsevier), 2006-2015

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Research in our group is interdisciplinary and collaborative. Carbon material science is at the core of most of our work. We study electrochemical reaction kinetics, mechanisms, and interfacial capacitance at various types of carbon electrodes, including boron-doped diamond (BDD) and nitrogen-incorporated tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C:N), before and after chemical modification. The research utilizes planar thin films, optically transparent electrodes, microelectrodes, and powderous forms of BDD and ta-C:N. Screen-printed and inkjet-printed carbon electrodes are also utilized. A goal is to tailor the properties of these carbon electrodes for optimal application in (i) the study of electrochemical reaction mechanisms and kinetics of soluble redox molecules in aqueous electrolyte solutons and room temperature ionic liquids, (ii) in vitro neurochemical analysis in the peripheral nervous system of animal models of disease, (iii) point-of-care diagnostic platforms for animal and human health care, and (iv) environmental analysis. 

We also study the preparation, mechanical properties and electrochemical/corrosion behavior of additively manufactured metal alloys (aluminum, titanium and stainless steel) and the use of coating systems and other surface treatments for corrosion control and mitigation. A variety of analytical tools are employed in our research including electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical methods of analysis, electron and optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical profilometry, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. 

 

We welcome the incoming graduate students in 2025! This will be the last year I accept new students. The following are current research projects possibly available to interested students:

 

1. Diamond Microelectrode Fabrication and Application in Neurochemical Analysis. Students will work on developing chemical vapor deposition methods for forming thin films of nanocrystalline BDD conformally on Pt and W wires from 10 to 100 µm in diameter, investigating new insulation methods, and studying the electrochemical behavior of these microelectrodes using fast scan cyclic voltammetry and other electrochemical methods. 

Students will also work on using the BDD microelectrodes and electrochemical methods to study excitatory (serotonin, acetylcholine) and inhibitory (ATP and nitric oxide) neuromuscular signaling in vitro in the gastrointestinal tract of test animals for the purpose of learning how potential alterations in gut neuromuscular signaling are associated with pathological conditions in animal models of obesity, neurodegenerative disease and microplastic particle exposure. These projects are collaborative with colleagues in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and the Neuroscience Program. 

 

2. Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Human and Animal Health Care. Students will work on first-generation, point-of-care diagnostic technology useful for the clinical monitoring, care delivery, and disease management of human subjects with lung disease. Additionally, we are working on the technology for application in the management of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in cattle. The technology will link various disease biomarkers with respiratory disease status. Oxidative and nitrosative stress are linked with respiratory diseases. Therefore,  oxidative and nitrosative stress biomarkers and their patterns over time in the animal and human subjects are being measured in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) that is collected non-invasively. The diagnostic electrochemical platform uses chemically-modified screen-printed or inkjet-printed carbon electrodes to detect key biomarkers of oxidative and nitrosative stress including pH, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), nitric oxide (NO), and peroxynitrite (PON).

In lung cancer, electrochemical immunosensors are being developed to measure (i) programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1, a marker of lung cancer) and (ii) B type natriuretic peptide (BNP, a marker of lung cancer and cardiac dysfunction) in EBC from patients undergoing treatment.

In BRD, electrochemical immunosensors and molecularly imprinted (MIP) sensors are being developed for measuring the bacterium Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis, a biomarker of the disease) in EBC collected from cattle suspected of having the disease.

Both projects are collaborative with physicians in the College of Medicine and clinicians in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

 

3. Additively Manufactured Metal Alloys and Surface Treatments and Coating Systems for Corrosion Control. The student will research the preparation of additive manufactured (AM), or 3D printed metal alloys. AM is the process of fabricating objects layer-by-layer, as opposed to traditional subtractive manufacturing technologies. We seek to understand how the surface texture, alloy microstructure, and elemental composition affect the electrochemical behavior of AM aluminum, steel, and titanium alloys prepared by selective laser melting and fused-filament fabrication methods. It is also of interest to learn how surface pretreatments and coating systems mitigate corrosion on these alloys. For example, work is ongoing to understand how acoustoplastic treatment affects the microstructure of metals and metal alloys, and how this is linked to the corrosion susceptibility. Electrochemical methods, various microscopies and surface science tools are being used for material and surface characterization. This project is collaborative with colleagues in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science, and the Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest (CMW). 

Data below are for the titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V, prepared by fused filament fabrication.

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Research in the group is presently funded by grants from the Office of Naval Research and Honeywell/DoE.