John Edward McGinness, PhD, MD, Pioneer in
Organic electronicsOrganic electronics, plastic electronics or polymer electronics, is a branch of electronics that deals with conductive polymers, plastics, or small molecules. It is called 'organic' electronics because the polymers and small molecules are carbon-based, like the molecules of living things...
and
NanotechnologyNanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.Nanotechnology is very diverse,...
. B.S. Physics - University of Houston, 1966, PhD, Physics, Rice University, 1970, MD, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 1985. Author of roughly 40 research publications, book chapters, and presentations.
John McGinness pioneered much of the modern field of organic electronics.
In 1972, while working at the Metallurgy department at Youngstown State University, Dr. McGinness suggested (1) that electronic conduction in melanins (
polyacetylenePolyacetylene is an organic polymer with the repeat unit
n. The high electrical conductivity discovered for these polymers in the 1970’s accelerated interest in the use of organic compounds in microelectronics...
,
polypyrroleA Polypyrrole is a chemical compound formed from a number of connected pyrrole ring structures. For example a tetrapyrrole is a compound with four pyrrole rings connected. Polypyrroles are conducting polymers of the rigid-rod polymer host family, all basically derivatives of polyacetylene...
, and
polyanilinePolyaniline is a conducting polymer of the semi-flexible rod polymer family. Although it was discovered over 150 years ago, only recently has polyaniline captured the attention of the scientific community due to the discovery of its high electrical conductivity...
"blacks" and their copolymers) is analogous to conduction in amorphous solids such as the
chalcogenide glassA chalcogenide glass is a glass containing one or more chalcogenide elements as a substantial constituent...
es. This area was originally pioneered by Neville Mott, among others. That is, it involves such things as mobility gaps,
phononIn physics, a phonon is a quantized mode of vibration occurring in a rigid crystal lattice, such as the atomic lattice of a solid. The study of phonons is an important part of solid state physics, because phonons play a major role in many of the physical properties of solids, including a material's...
-assisted hopping,
polaronA polaron is a quasiparticle composed of a charge and its accompanying polarization field. A slow moving electron in a dielectric crystal, interacting with lattice ions through long-range forces will permanently be surrounded by a region of lattice polarization and deformation caused by the moving...
s, Quantum tunneling, and so forth. This report anticipated the later Nobel-prize-winning work of Shirakawa
et al. on conduction mechanisms in other oxidized polyacetylenes.
From Youngstown, Dr McGinness moved to the Physics Department of
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer CenterThe University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is one of the nation's original three comprehensive cancer centers established by the National Cancer Act of 1971. It is both a degree-granting academic institution and a cancer treatment and research center located in the Texas Medical Center in...
. The department had an interest in the physical properties of
MelaninMelanin is a class of compounds found in plants, animals, and protists, where it serves predominantly as a pigment. The class of pigments are derivatives of the amino acid tyrosine. Many melanins are insoluble salts and show affinity to water...
as a possible hook to treating
melanomaMelanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes which are found predominantly in skin but also in the bowel and the eye . It is one of the less common types of skin cancer but causes the majority of skin cancer related deaths. Melanocytes are normally present in skin, being responsible for the...
. While of enormous importance now, this was a research backwater at the time. With the notable exception of Bolto
et al., who had reported
http://www.drproctor.com/os/weisspaper.pdf high conductivity in iodine-doped
polypyrroleA Polypyrrole is a chemical compound formed from a number of connected pyrrole ring structures. For example a tetrapyrrole is a compound with four pyrrole rings connected. Polypyrroles are conducting polymers of the rigid-rod polymer host family, all basically derivatives of polyacetylene...
, few but melanoma researchers had much reason to look at the electronic properties of such rigid-backbone polymer "blacks". This is why the putative first molecular electronic device came from a cancer hospital.
The
chalcogenide glassA chalcogenide glass is a glass containing one or more chalcogenide elements as a substantial constituent...
es show "switching", in which an applied "threshold voltage" reversibly switches a material from a low-conductivity "OFF" state to a high-conductivity "ON' state. The similarity of conduction mechanisms suggested that the melanins might also demonstrate voltage-controlled switching. Following this lead, Dr McGinness and his MD Anderson coworkers
constructed a voltage-controlled switch incorporating melanin as its active element (2). They also further characterized its electronic behavior (3-8).
This device was a "proof of concept" for Dr McGinness' model for electronic conduction in such materials (1). In many ways, this work directly anticipated that leading to the 2000 Noble prize in Chemistry "For the Discovery and Development of Conductive Polymers", but with some differences. First, Dr McGinness built an actual device with a high conductivity "ON" state, while they looked at passive high conductivity in another of the same class of polymer. Similarly, the Nobel winners worked in reverse-- they stumbled upon passive high conductivity in another oxidized polyacetylene, unknowingly repeating the work of Bolto
et al. http://www.drproctor.com/os/weisspaper.pdf with similarly iodine-doped
polypyrroleA Polypyrrole is a chemical compound formed from a number of connected pyrrole ring structures. For example a tetrapyrrole is a compound with four pyrrole rings connected. Polypyrroles are conducting polymers of the rigid-rod polymer host family, all basically derivatives of polyacetylene...
. They then developed a model to explain high conductivity in such materials. This model was rather similar to Dr McGinness', with the addition of solitons for the special case of pure polyacetylene.
The pictured device represents several putative "firsts" in
organic electronicsOrganic electronics, plastic electronics or polymer electronics, is a branch of electronics that deals with conductive polymers, plastics, or small molecules. It is called 'organic' electronics because the polymers and small molecules are carbon-based, like the molecules of living things...
. E.g., this voltage-controlled switch is apparently the first identifiable "active"
organic semiconductorAn organic semiconductor is an organic material that has semiconductor properties. A semiconductor is a compound whose electrical conductivity is inversely proportional to resistivity . Semiconductivity is exhibited by single molecules, short chain and organic polymers...
device. (An active device is one in which a current or voltage controls current flow.) As such, it is arguably parent to many later developments in
organic electronicsOrganic electronics, plastic electronics or polymer electronics, is a branch of electronics that deals with conductive polymers, plastics, or small molecules. It is called 'organic' electronics because the polymers and small molecules are carbon-based, like the molecules of living things...
. In fact, only in the last decade or so have similar devices reappeared. Moreover, organic electronics is part of
NanotechnologyNanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.Nanotechnology is very diverse,...
. So this gadget is the putative first nanotech device. As such, it is now in the Smithsonians Institution's National Museum of American History collection of early
electronicElectronics is a branch of science and technology that deals with the controlled flow of electrons. The ability to control electron flow is usually applied to information handling or device control. Electronics is distinct from electrical science and technology, which deals with the generation,...
devices.
Similarly, while high-conductivity had been observed decades before in
Charge transfer complexA charge-transfer complex is a chemical association of two or more molecules, or of different parts of one very large molecule, in which the attraction between the molecules is created by an electronic transition into an excited electronic state, such that a fraction of electronic charge is...
-type
organic semiconductorAn organic semiconductor is an organic material that has semiconductor properties. A semiconductor is a compound whose electrical conductivity is inversely proportional to resistivity . Semiconductivity is exhibited by single molecules, short chain and organic polymers...
s and in polypyrrole
http://www.drproctor.com/os/weisspaper.pdf, the "ON" state of the pictured device was the demonstration of a high "metallic" conductivity state in the linear-backbone conductive polymers. Thus, a subsequent
news article in the journal
Nature makes much of this materials "strikingly large conductivity", "high conductivity", and "large conduction".
At present, such oxidized
polyacetylenePolyacetylene is an organic polymer with the repeat unit
n. The high electrical conductivity discovered for these polymers in the 1970’s accelerated interest in the use of organic compounds in microelectronics...
s and their derivatives are the most commonly-used commercial conductive polymers. Further, the pictured device exhibited
negative differential resistanceNegative differential resistance or differential negative resistance is a property of electrical circuit elements composed of certain materials in which, over certain voltage ranges, current is a decreasing function of voltage...
(9), now a well-recognized property of electronically-active conductive polymers.
Interestingly, For further perspective concerning where this device fits in the history of Organic Electronics, see reference 9. A sample quote:
- "Also in 1974 came the first experimental demonstration of an operating molecular electronic device (emphasis-added) that functions along the lines of the biopolymer conduction ideas of Szent-Gyorgi. This advance was made by McGinness, Corry, and Proctor who examined conduction through artificial and biological melanin oligomers. They observed semiconductor properties of the organic material and demonstrated strong negative differential resistance, a hallmark of modern advances in molecular electronics.58 Like many early advances, the significance of the results obtained was not fully appreciated until decades later...(p 14)"
Since he was at a cancer research institute, Dr McGinness' other interests included the role of free radicals in the action and toxicity of the anticancer drugs
cisplatinCisplatin, cisplatinum, or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug used to treat various types of cancers, including sarcomas, some carcinomas , lymphomas, and germ cell tumors. It was the first member of a class of anti-cancer drugs which now also includes carboplatin...
, adriamycin, and
bleomycinBleomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic produced by the bacterium Streptomyces verticillus. Bleomycin refers to a family of structurally related compounds. When used as an anti-cancer agent, the chemotherapeutical forms are primarily bleomycin A2 and B2. Bleomycin...
. E.g., he was the first to show (10) that the kidney toxicity of
cisplatinCisplatin, cisplatinum, or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug used to treat various types of cancers, including sarcomas, some carcinomas , lymphomas, and germ cell tumors. It was the first member of a class of anti-cancer drugs which now also includes carboplatin...
involves
reactive oxygen speciesReactive oxygen species are free radicals that contain the oxygen atom. They are very small molecules that include oxygen ions and peroxides and can be either inorganic or organic. They are highly reactive due to the presence of unpaired valence shell electrons.ROS form as a natural byproduct of...
. Some of this work was done with
Harry DemopoulosHarry B. Demopoulos, MD, is an important pioneer in the medical aspects of free radicals, especially in the areas of ischaemic injury, the toxicity of anticancer drugs, and in spinal cord injury...
, famous as the doctor in
Clint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American actor, film director, film producer and composer. He has received five Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and five People's Choice Awards—including one for Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star.Eastwood is...
's Dirty Harry movies and as the person who resolved the
Doris DukeDoris Duke was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector, and philanthropist.-Family and early life:...
will dispute. Dr McGinness was also involved in
the dielectic spectroscopy of water bound to membranes. This was related to the future development of
Magnetic Resonance ImagingMagnetic Resonance Imaging , or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , is primarily a medical imaging technique most commonly used in radiology to visualize the internal structure and function of the body...
John and his coworkers also obtained two US patents for organic-polymer-based energy storage devices (batteries),US patents# #4,366,216 and #4,504,557
Some publications
- McGinness, J.E., Mobility gaps: a mechanism for band gaps in melanins Science. 1972 Sep 8;177(52):896-7.
- McGinness, J.E., Corry, P.M., and Proctor, P.: Amorphous semiconductor switching in melanins. Science 183:853-855, 1974.
- Mizutani, U., Massalski, T., McGinness, J.E., and Corry, P.: Anomalous low temperature specific heat results in melanins and intact melanosomes. Nature 259:505, 1976.
- Filatovs, J., McGinness, J.E., Corry, P.M.: Thermal and electronic contributions to switching in melanins. Biopolymers 15:2309-2313, 1976.
- Kono, R. and McGinness, J.E.: Anomalous Absorption and Sound in DBA Melanins. J. Applied Physics, 50(3): 1236-1244, 1979.
- McGinness, J.E., Crippa, P.R., Kirkpatrick, D.S., and Proctor, P.M.: Reversible and Irreversible Changes in Hydrogen Ion Titration Curves of Melanins. Physiol. Chem. and Phvs. 11:217-223, 1979.
- Filatovs, G.J., McGinness, J.E., Williams, L.: Statistical Analysis of Switching Melanins. Physicol. Chem. and Phys. Vol. 12, No. 5, 1980.
- Kirkpatrick, D.S., McGinness, J.E., Moorhead, W.D., Corry, P.M., and Proctor, P.H.: Melanin-Water-Ion Dielectric Interaction. Pigment Cell Vol. 4p. 257-262, Karger Basel, 1979.
- "An Overview of the First Half-Century of Molecular Electronics" by Noel S. Hush, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1006: 1–20 (2003).
- McGinness JE, Proctor PH, Harry Demopoulos
Harry B. Demopoulos, MD, is an important pioneer in the medical aspects of free radicals, especially in the areas of ischaemic injury, the toxicity of anticancer drugs, and in spinal cord injury...
, Hokanson JA, Kirkpatrick DS. Amelioration of cis-platinum nephrotoxicity by orgotein (superoxide dismutase). Physiol Chem Phys. 1978;10(3):267-77. abstract
- John McGinness, Proctor, P.H., Harry Demopoulos
Harry B. Demopoulos, MD, is an important pioneer in the medical aspects of free radicals, especially in the areas of ischaemic injury, the toxicity of anticancer drugs, and in spinal cord injury...
, Hokansen, J.A. and Van,N.T. In vivo evidence for superoxide and peroxide production by adriamycin and cis-platinum. In: Pathology of Oxygen. A. Author, (Ed.). Academic Press, New York, 1982, pp. 191–202.
- McGinness J, Kishimoto A, Hollister LE. Avoiding neurotoxicity with lithium-carbamazepine combinations. Psychopharmacol Bull. 1990;26(2):181-4.
- McGinness JE, Grossie B Jr, Proctor PH, Benjamin RS, Gulati OP, Hokanson JA. Effect of dose schedule of vitamin E and hydroxethylruticide on intestinal toxicity induced by adriamycin. Physiol Chem Phys Med NMR. 1986;18(1):17-24.
- McGinness J. A new view of pigmented neurons. J Theor Biol. 1985 Aug 7;115(3):475-6.
- Gulati OP, Nordmann H, Aellig A, Maignan MF, McGinness J. Protective effects of O-(beta-hydroxyethyl)-rutosides (HR) against adriamycin-induced toxicity in rats. Arch Int Pharmacodyn Ther. 1985 Feb;273(2):323-34.
- Schrauzer GN, McGinness JE, Ishmael D, Bell LJ. Alcoholism and cancer. I. Effects of long-term exposure to alcohol on spontaneous mammary adenocarcinoma and prolactin levels in C3H/St mice. J Stud Alcohol. 1979 Mar;40(3):240-6.
- Pietronigro DD, McGinness JE, Koren MJ, Crippa R, Seligman ML, Harry Demopoulos
Harry B. Demopoulos, MD, is an important pioneer in the medical aspects of free radicals, especially in the areas of ischaemic injury, the toxicity of anticancer drugs, and in spinal cord injury...
. Spontaneous generation of adriamycin semiquinone radicals at physiologic pH. Physiol Chem Phys. 1979;11(5):405-14.
- McGinness JE, Crippa PR, Kirkpatrick DS, Proctor PH. Reversible and irreversible changes in hydrogen ion titration curves of melanins. Physiol Chem Phys. 1979;11(3):217-23.
- Kirkpatrick DS, McGinness JE, Moorhead WD, Corry PM, Proctor PH. High-frequency dielectric spectroscopy of concentrated membrane suspensions. Biophys J. 1978 Oct;24(1):243-5.
External links