Rate My Professor Leah Casabianca

Her research centers on developing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods to investigate interactions between nanomaterials and biologically relevant molecules, including small molecules and macromolecules. This work employs experimental solution and solid-state NMR, calculated chemical shifts, and dynamic nuclear polarization. Applications include drug delivery systems, biomedical devices, materials science, and assessments of nanomaterials toxicity, such as interactions involving microplastics and environmental pollutants. She received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2018 from the Division of Chemistry and the College of Science Rising Star in Discovery Award in 2018. Casabianca has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles. Key publications include "Tutorial: Saturation Transfer Difference NMR for Studying Small Molecules Interacting With Nanoparticles" (2025, Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry), "1H and 19F NMR Toolbox for Examining Interactions between Fluorinated Compounds and Polystyrene Nanoparticles" (2025, Journal of Physical Chemistry B), "Effect of Plastic Type and Salt Concentration on Interactions between Nanoscale Plastic and Amino Acids in Solution Using Saturation-Transfer Difference NMR Spectroscopy" (2024, ACS ES&T Water), "Binding Between Antibiotics and Polystyrene Nanoparticles Examined by NMR" (2023, ACS Environmental Au), "Probing Driving Forces for Binding Between Nanoparticles and Amino Acids by Saturation-Transfer Difference NMR" (2020, Scientific Reports), and "Comprehensive Multiphase NMR Examination of Amino Acids Binding to the Dynamic Shell of Polystyrene Nanoparticles to Understand Environmental Hazards Associated with Nanoscale Plastic" (2022, ACS Applied Nano Materials). Her contributions have advanced understanding of molecular-nanoparticle interfaces in environmental and biomedical contexts.