Christine Payne

Research Themes

Biomechanics & Biomaterials, Soft Matter & Nanoscale Materials

Research Interests

Molecular mechanisms by which cells interact with nanomaterials with applications in nanomedicine and environmental exposure

Bio

Christine Payne is the Yoh Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. Her research focuses on understanding how cells interact with nanomaterials. This includes fundamental questions of nanoparticle transport within cells, as well as applied research to understand the pulmonary response to the inhalation of nanoparticles in a manufacturing setting. Her team uses an interdisciplinary approach that includes elements of materials science, chemistry, biophysics, and lab automation. She teaches classes on the quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics of materials including a class on the “Materials Science of Science Fiction.” She earned a S.B. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago (1998) and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley (2003). Prof. Payne spent 2003-2006 as an NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University. Prof. Payne has received many honors including an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2009) and a DARPA Young Faculty Award (2011). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.  

Education

• B.S. The University of Chicago, 1998
• Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 2003

Positions

• Yoh Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Alstadt Chair of the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Professor of Chemistry

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Jefferson Science Fellows Program - Science, Technology, Engineering and Medical Science. National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine. 2023
• Fellow. Royal Society of Chemistry. 2020

Courses Taught

• ME 592: Research Independent Study in Mechanical Engineering or Material Science
• ME 555: Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 490: Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
• ME 412: Modern Materials
• ME 391: Undergraduate Projects in Mechanical Engineering

Publications

• Heckman MM, Albright MC, Poulsen KM, Tighe RM, Payne CK. Cellular and In Vivo Response to Industrial, Food Grade, and Photocatalytic TiO2 Nanoparticles. J Phys Chem B. 2024 Sep 19;128(37):8878u201385.
• Bartone RD, Tisch LJ, Dominguez J, Payne CK, Bonner JC. House Dust Mite Proteins Adsorb on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Forming an Allergen Corona That Intensifies Allergic Lung Disease in Mice. ACS nano. 2024 Sep;
• Anees F, Montoya DA, Pisetsky DS, Payne CK. DNA corona on nanoparticles leads to an enhanced immunostimulatory effect with implications for autoimmune diseases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Mar 12;121(11):e2319634121.
• Dominguez J, Holmes SK, Bartone RD, Tisch LJ, Tighe RM, Bonner JC, et al. House Dust Mite Extract Forms a Der p 2 Corona on Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Implications for Allergic Airway Disease. Environ Sci Nano. 2024 Jan 1;11(1):324u201335.
• Poulsen KM, Albright MC, Niemuth NJ, Tighe RM, Payne CK. Interaction of TiO2 nanoparticles with lung fluid proteins and the resulting macrophage inflammatory response. Environ Sci Nano. 2023 Sep 1;10(9):2427u201336.
• Han X, Payne CK. Gold Ions Hyperpolarize Bacteria. Bioelectricity. 2023 Jun 1;5(2):109u201315.
• Rayens NT, Cook KJ, McKinley SA, Payne CK. Palmitate-mediated disruption of the endoplasmic reticulum decreases intracellular vesicle motility. Biophysical journal. 2023 Apr;122(7):1355u201363.
• Poulsen KM, Payne CK. Predicting the interaction of nanoparticles with proteins using lab automation and machine learning. Biophysical journal. 2023 Feb 10;122(3S1).
• Poulsen KM, Payne CK. Concentration and composition of the protein corona as a function of incubation time and serum concentration: an automated approach to the protein corona. Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. 2022 Oct;414(24):7265u201375.
• Rayens NT, Cook KJ, McKinley SA, Payne CK. Transport of lysosomes decreases in the perinuclear region: Insights from changepoint analysis. Biophysical journal. 2022 Apr;121(7):1205u201318.
• Han X, Payne CK. Effect of Thioflavin T on the Elongation Rate of Bacteria. Bioelectricity. 2022 Mar;4(1):12u20137.
• Jayaram DT, Payne CK. Food-Grade TiO₂ Particles Generate Intracellular Superoxide and Alter Epigenetic Modifiers in Human Lung Cells. Chemical research in toxicology. 2020 Nov;33(11):2872u20139.
• Griffith DM, Jayaram DT, Spencer DM, Pisetsky DS, Payne CK. DNA-nanoparticle interactions: Formation of a DNA corona and its effects on a protein corona. Biointerphases. 2020 Oct 1;15(5):051006.
• Poulsen KM, Pho T, Champion JA, Payne CK. Automation and low-cost proteomics for characterization of the protein corona: experimental methods for big data. Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. 2020 Sep;412(24):6543u201351.
• Han X, Foster BR, Payne CK. Electrical Control of Escherichia coli Growth Measured with Simultaneous Modulation and Imaging. Bioelectricity. 2020 Sep;2(3):221u20138.
• Jayaram DT, Payne CK. Intracellular Generation of Superoxide by TiO₂ Nanoparticles Decreases Histone Deacetylase 9 (HDAC9), an Epigenetic Modifier. Bioconjugate chemistry. 2020 May;31(5):1354u201361.
• Payne CK. A protein corona primer for physical chemists. The Journal of chemical physics. 2019 Oct;151(13):130901.
• Morris JD, Payne CK. Microscopy and Cell Biology: New Methods and New Questions. Annual review of physical chemistry. 2019 Jun;70:199u2013218.
• Morris JD, Payne CK. Advances in materials for cellular applications (Review). Biointerphases. 2019 Feb;14(1):010801.
• Jayaram DT, Kumar A, Kippner LE, Ho P-Y, Kemp ML, Fan Y, et al. TiO₂ nanoparticles generate superoxide and alter gene expression in human lung cells. RSC advances. 2019 Jan;9(43):25039u201347.
• Jayaram DT, Pustulka SM, Mannino RG, Lam WA, Payne CK. Protein Corona in Response to Flow: Effect on Protein Concentration and Structure. Biophysical journal. 2018 Jul;115(2):209u201316.
• Runa S, Hussey M, Payne CK. Nanoparticle-Cell Interactions: Relevance for Public Health. The journal of physical chemistry B. 2018 Jan;122(3):1009u201316.
• Thourson SB, Payne CK. Modulation of action potentials using PEDOT:PSS conducting polymer microwires. Scientific Reports. 2017 Sep 4;7(1).
• Runa S, Lakadamyali M, Kemp ML, Payne CK. TiO₂ Nanoparticle-Induced Oxidation of the Plasma Membrane: Importance of the Protein Corona. The journal of physical chemistry B. 2017 Sep;121(37):8619u201325.
• Morris JD, Thourson SB, Panta KR, Flanders BN, Payne CK. Conducting polymer nanowires for control of local protein concentration in solution. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 2017 May 4;50(17):174003u2013174003.
• Flores JJ, Payne CK, Morris JD. Heme protein-mediated synthesis of PEDOT: PSS: enhancing conductivity by inhibiting heme degradation. RSC Advances. 2017;7(20):12017u201321.
• Jayaram DT, Luo Q, Thourson SB, Finlay A, Payne CK. Controlling the resting membrane potential of cells with conducting polymer microwires. Small. 2017;#1700789.
• Jayaram DT, Runa S, Kemp ML, Payne CK. Nanoparticle-induced oxidation of corona proteins initiates an oxidative stress response in cells. Nanoscale. 2017;9:7595u2013601.
• Morris JD, Wong KM, Peu00f1aherrera CD, Payne CK. Mechanism of the biomolecular synthesis of PEDOT: PSS: importance of heme degradation by hydrogen peroxide. Biomaterials science. 2016;
• Rana MA, Yao N, Mukhopadhyay S, Zhang F, Warren EAK, Payne CK. Modeling the effect of nanoparticles and the bistability of transmembrane potential in nonexcitable cells. In Boston, MA; 2016.
• Runa S, Khanal D, Kemp ML, Payne CK. TiO2 nanoparticles alter the expression of peroxiredoxin antioxidant genes. Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 2016;120:20736u201342.
• Warren EAK, Netterfield TS, Sarkar S, Kemp ML, Payne CK. Spatially-resolved intracellular sensing of hydrogen peroxide in living cells. Scientific reports. 2015;5:#16929.
• Morris JD, Khanal D, Richey JA, Payne CK. Hemoglobin-mediated synthesis of PEDOT: PSS: enhancing conductivity through biological oxidants. Biomaterials Science. 2015;3(3):442u20135.
• Warren EAK, Payne CK. Cellular binding of nanoparticles disrupts the membrane potential. RSC Advances. 2015;5:13660u20136.
• Fleischer CC, Payne CK. Secondary Structure of Corona Proteins Determines the Cell Surface Receptors Used by Nanoparticles. Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 2014;118:14017u201326.
• Mukhopadhyay S, Zhang F, Warren E, Payne CK. A model for controlling the resting membrane potential of cells using nanoparticles. In Boston, MA; 2014.
• Morris JD, Payne CK. Tuning PEDOT:PSS conductivity with iron oxidants. Organic Electronics. 2014;15:1701u201310.
• Runa S, Hill A, Cochran VL, Payne CK. PEGylated nanoparticles: protein corona and secondary structure. Proc SPIE, Physical Chemistry of Interfaces and Nanomaterials XIII. 2014;9165:1F1-IF8.
• Hill A, Payne CK. Impact of serum proteins on MRI contrast agents: Cellular binding and T2 relaxation. RSC Advances. 2014;4(60):31735u201344.
• Fleischer CC, Payne CK. Nanoparticle-cell interactions: Molecular structure of the protein corona and cellular outcomes. Accounts of Chemical Research. 2014;47:2651u20139.
• Hira SM, Payne CK. Protein-mediated synthesis of the conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS. Synthetic Metals. 2013;176:104u20137.
• Szymanski CJ, Yi H, Liu JT, Wright ER, Payne CK. Imaging intracellular quantum dots: Fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In: Rosenthal SJ, Wright DX, editors. Nanobiotechnology Protocols. New York, NY: Humana Press; 2013.
• Sarkar S, Payne CK, Kemp ML. Conditioned Media Downregulates Nuclear Expression of Nrf2. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. 2013;6(2):130u20137.
• Shin EH, Li Y, Kumar U, Sureka HV, Zhang XR, Payne CK. Membrane potential mediates the cellular binding of nanoparticles. Nanoscale. 2013;5(13):5879u201386.
• Fleischer CC, Kumar U, Payne CK. Cellular binding of anionic nanoparticles is inhibited by serum proteins independent of nanoparticle composition. Biomaterials Science. 2013;1:975u201382.
• Doorley GW, Payne CK. Nanoparticles act as protein carriers during cellular internalization. Chem Commun. 2012;48:2961u20133.
• Fleischer CC, Payne CK. Nanoparticle surface charge mediates the cellular receptors used by protein-nanoparticle complexes. Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 2012;116:8901u20137.
• Reddie KG, Humphries WH, Bain CP, Payne CK, Kemp ML, Murthy N. Fluorescent Coumarin Thiols Measure Biological Redox Couples. Organic Letters. 2012;14(3):680u20133.
• Humphries WH, Payne CK. Imaging lysosomal enzyme activity in live cells using self-quenched substrates. Analytical Biochemistry. 2012;424:178u201383.
• Szymanksi CJ, Humphries WH, Payne CK. Single particle tracking as a method to resolve differences in highly colocalized proteins. Analyst. 2011;136(17):3527u201333.
• Humphries WH, Szymanski CJ, Payne CK. Endo-lysosomal vesicles positive for Rab7 and LAMP1 are terminal vesicles for the transport of dextran. PLoS One. 2011;6:e26626.
• Humphries WH, Fay NC, Payne CK. Intracellular degradation of low-density lipoprotein probed with two-color fluorescence microscopy. Integr Biol. 2010;2:536u201344.
• Payne CK, Jones SA, Chen C, Zhuang X. Internalization and Trafficking of Cell Surface Proteoglycans and Proteoglycanu2010Binding Ligands. Traffic. 2007 Apr;8(4):389u2013401.
• Hess GT, Humphries WH, Fay NC, Payne CK. Cellular binding, motion, and internalization of synthetic gene delivery polymers. Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta-Molecular Cell Research. 2007;1773(10):1583u20138.
• Payne CK. Imaging gene delivery with fluorescence microscopy. Nanomedicine. 2007;2:847u201360.
• Shanoski JE, Payne CK, Kling MF, Glascoe EA, Harris CB. Ultrafast infrared mechanistic studies of the interaction of 1-Hexyne with group 6 hexacarbonyl complexes. Organometallics. 2005;24(8):1852u20139.
• Hayden O, Payne CK. Nanophotonic light sources for fluorescence spectroscopy and cellular imaging. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition. 2005;44(9):1395u20138.

In The News

• Christine Payne Begins Tenure as Chair of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science at Duke (Jan 9, 2025 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Five New Bass Professors Named for Excellence in Teaching and Research (Apr 23, 2020 | )