Darlene K Taylor
Biography
Dr. Taylor simultaneously worked on her master's degree coursework at North Carolina A&T State University while acting as a scholar in residence at Rohm and Haas Company in Norristown, PA. She then went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she worked on electronic coupling mechanisms in cyclophane biradicals before conducting her doctoral research in polymer physical chemistry.
Upon completion of her doctoral degree, Dr. Taylor worked as a postdoctoral fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill on the design and characterization of polymer materials for novel applications. Dr. Taylor joined the North Carolina Central University faculty as an assistant professor in Chemistry in 2005.
In the classroom, she views herself as a facilitator working to create an environment in which students become responsible learners, critical and independent thinkers, and effective communicators. Her teaching efforts are significantly integrated with her research efforts in order to provide students with real-life applications of scientific principles in emerging technologies.
The Taylor laboratory focuses on the design, synthesis and characterization of stimuli-responsive oligomers and polymers for potential applications in solar cell, drug delivery and membrane technologies.
Research Interests
Research in the Taylor laboratory focuses on the structure-property relationships in oligomers and polymers. Dr. Taylor is investigating the efficacy of various materials for potential applications in technologies such as solar cells and drug-delivery vehicles. Dr. Taylor's background uniquely qualifies her to train students at NCCU in polymer theory, polymer methods and development, materials design and the physical characterization of these materials.
Education
|
Ph.D. |
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
1998 |
|
M.S. |
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University |
1992 |
|
B.A. |
Goucher College |
1989 |
Courses
Projects
Publications
1. Taylor, D. K., & Uddhav, B. (2014). Engineering Molecules to Make Medicine Smarter. American Scientist, 102, 110.
2. Fang, Z., & Ito, A., & Stuart, A. C., & Lou, H. (2013). Soluble Reduced Graphene Oxide Sheets Grafted with Polypyridylruthenium-Derivatized Polystyrene Brushes as Light Harvesting Antenna for Photovoltaic Applications. ACS Nano , 7, 7992-8002.
3. Fang, Z., & Ito, A., & Keinan, S., & Chen, Z. (2013). ATRP Preparation and Photophysical Properties of PolypyridylrutheniumDerivatized Polystyrenes. Inorg. Chem., 52, 8511-8520.
4. Le, K., & Chand, L. B., & Griffin, C., & Williams, A. L. (2013). Paraphenylene Dimers with Diphenylamine Donor Groups: Synthesis and Photophysics. Tetrahedron Letters, 54, 3097-3100.
5. Dai, G., & Wu, M. H., & Taylor, D. K., & Brennaman, M. K. (2012). Hybrid 3D graphene and aligned carbon nanofiber array architectures. RSC Advances, 2, 8965-8968.
6. Taylor, D. K., & Leppert, P. C. (2012). Treatment for uterine fibroids: Searching for effective drug therapies. Drug Discovery Today: Therapeutic Strategies, 9, 41-49.
7. Taylor, D. K., & Jayes, F. L., & House, A. J., & Ochieng, M. A. (2011). Temperature-Responsive Biocompatible Copolymers Incorporating Hyperbranched Polyglycerols for Adjustable Functionality. Journal of Functional Biomaterials, 2, 173-194.
8. Taylor, D. K., & Koepnick, B. D., & Lipscomb, J. S. (2010). Effect of Substitution on the Optical Properties and HOMO-LUMO Gap of Oligomeric. Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 114, 13228-13233.
9. Andréa, P., & Lacroix-Desmazes , P., & Taylor, D. K., & Boutevin, B. (2006). Solubility of fluorinated homopolymer and block copolymer in compressed CO2. The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, 37, 263-270.
Jayes FL, Corder RD, Vachieri RB, Khan SA, Taylor DK. Multiple hour antifibrotic drug release enabled by a thermosensitive quadpolymer. Int J Pharm. 2025, 669, 125097. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.125097. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39694158.
Schultheiss, A.; White, J.; Le, K.; Boone, N.; Riaz, U.; Taylor, D.K. The Synthesis, Characterization, and Theoretical Study of Ruthenium (II) Polypyridyl Oligomer Hybrid Structures with Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Optoelectronic Applications. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 12989 - 13013. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252312989.
Folorunsho, O., Lin, J., Ayeni, J. O., Stiff-Roberts, A., Riaz, U., & Taylor, D. K. (2025). Effect of amino-oligophenylenes on the properties of molybdenum disulfide metal-organic frameworks: Rapid catalytic reduction of nitrophenol in water. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 422, 126906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2025.126906.
Kallon J, Bang JJ, Riaz U, Taylor DK. Design of Thermo-Responsive Pervaporation Membrane Based on Hyperbranched Polyglycerols and Elastin-like Protein Conjugates. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024, 14(22), 1821. doi: 10.3390/nano14221821. PMID: 39591062; PMCID: PMC11597402.
King D, Katzbaer RR, Riaz U, Key SCS, Taylor DK. Developing Equitable Lab Practice/Culture: A Student-Centered Activity on Alcohol Metabolism and Its Relation to the Black Community. J. Chem. Educ. 2024, 101(12), 5422–5429. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00346
Lemus SS, Lin J, Kumar R, Keelson O, Shringi AK, Yan F, Taylor DK, Riaz U. Nitrophenylene-decorated V2O5 nanohybrids: Effect of processing conditions on enhancing the electrochemical performance for oxygen reduction reaction and dopamine sensing. Microchem. J. 2025, 208, 112453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2024.112453
Mir A, Fletcher WJ, Taylor DK, Alam J, Riaz U. Sustained Release Studies of Metformin Hydrochloride Drug Using Conducting Polymer/Gelatin-Based Composite Hydrogels. ACS Omega 2024 9(17), 18766-18776. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c05067
Zia J, Riyazuddin M, Jackson S, Taylor DK, Riaz U. In-vitro release studies of ciprofloxacin drug using polyaniline/polypyrrole-encapsulated β-cyclodextrin nanocomposites. Polym. Bull. 2023, 80, 12557–12576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-022-04667-4
Corder RD, Vachieri RB, Martin ME, Taylor DK, Fleming JM, Khan SA. Linear and nonlinear rheology of liberase-treated breast cancer tumors. Biomater Sci. 2023,11(6), 2186-2199. doi: 10.1039/d3bm00038a. PMID: 36744734; PMCID: PMC10023448.
Hou X, Sun L, Wei W, Taylor DK, Su S, Yu H. Structure and performance control of high-damping bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2022, 139(18),e52059. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.52059.
Orozco GA, Avent CM, Reid A, Boyce A, Taylor DK. Continuing to Nurture Undergraduates in STEM: Evaluation of a polymer-infused Chemistry Research Experience for Undergraduates at an HBCU. Journal of Negro Education 2021, 90(3), 411-423.
Corder RD, Gadi SV, Vachieri RB, Jayes FL, Cullen JM, Khan SA, Taylor DK. Using rheology to quantify the effects of localized collagenase treatments on uterine fibroid digestion. Acta Biomater.2021,134, 443-452. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.08.003. Epub 2021 Aug 8. PMID: 34371168; PMCID: PMC8823699.
Patents/Copyright/Trademarks
US Patent 9,744,138 August 29, 2017; "Treatment method and product for uterine fibroids using purified collagenase." Inventors- Leppert PC, Wegman TL, and Taylor DK.
US Provisional Patent 61/380,076 September 3, 2010; “Biodegradable liquogel and pH Sensitive Nanocarriers”; Inventors -Taylor, DK and Ochieng, MO.
U.S. Provisional Patent 61/904,078, November 14, 2013; “Elecroresponsive Technology”;Inventors- Taylor, DK and Balami, Uddhav