About

Dr. Abraham Joy is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at Northeastern University. Prior to joining Northeastern, he was a professor of polymer science at the University of Akron, where he served as an assistant professor from 2010 to 2016, associate professor from 2016 to 2020, and professor since 2020. Between 2021 and 2023, Dr. Joy was a National Science Foundation program director in the Biomaterials (BMAT) program of the Division of Materials Research (DMR). His research focuses on the design and use of biomaterials for wound healing, antimicrobial and antibiofilm strategies, soft-tissue replacement, polymer condensates, and sustained delivery of therapeutics. Dr. Joy is also an associate editor for Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. He earned his PhD in chemistry from Tulane University, where he studied organic asymmetric photoreactions. Following his doctoral studies, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Georgia Institute of Technology on charge migration in synthetic oligonucleotides, and subsequently was an NIH Ruth Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University, where he worked on designing biomaterials to modulate cellular functions. Dr. Joy has received several awards including the Burroughs Welcome Award, the 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award, and an NSF CAREER Award.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Computer Science
• Composite material
• Chemical engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Biology
• Chromatography
• Oceanography
• Biomedical engineering
• Geology
• Biochemistry
• Polymer chemistry
• Microbiology

Selected publications

• Release Dynamics of Folic Acid from Peptidomimetic Polyesters: A Multi-Scale Investigation from Bulk Properties to Molecular Interactions

  Biomacromolecules · 2026-01-28

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Clinical studies have demonstrated that the daily intake of folic acid can reduce the incidence of neural tube defects (NTDs) by 70%. Despite widespread awareness of the need for folic acid supplementation, certain communities remain at a high risk for NTDs. To overcome these limitations, sustained and controlled delivery systems based on natural and synthetic polymers have been extensively explored. However, these systems often fail to maintain long-term release due to an incomplete understanding of how polymer properties influence drug release kinetics. As a result, achieving long-term control of drug release often requires complex strategies, including polymer blending or coating techniques, complicating both device fabrication and the understanding of release mechanisms. In this work, we present a simple yet effective drug delivery system based on modular peptide-like polyesters, specifically designed for tunable, long-term release of folic acid. The well-defined architecture of these systems allows us to clearly demonstrate, through extensive characterization and simulations, that folic acid release is primarily governed by physical and chemical interactions among key functional groups of the polymer, folic acid, and water.

  PublisherDOI

• Nanofibrous Electrospun Patches Fabricated from Biodegradable Polyesters Provide Effective Hemorrhage Control

  Advanced Healthcare Materials · 2025-12-26

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable death in both civilian and military populations. Current topical hemostats rely on packing the wound cavity, and/or applying external pressure with pelvic binders. These methods have complications, need extensive training, necessitate surgical removal of hemostats, and lack an understanding of the chemical structure‐hemostatic property relationships. This work describes the design and testing of hemostatic electrospun patches (EPs) with carboxylic acid (–COOH) and primary amine (–NH 2 ) as procoagulant functional groups. EPs accelerate whole blood clotting in vitro, with –COOH EPs performing almost twice as better compared to –NH 2 EPs. In a mouse liver hemorrhage model, the EPs lower bleeding times by about 3 times compared to cotton gauze as control. The EPs restrict blood component flow and form a contracted, tissue‐adhesive clot at the EP–wound interface due to its nanofibrous nature, thus mediating wound closure. On the other hand, cotton gauze fails to form a contracted clot at the gauze–wound interface leading to open rebleeding wounds upon material removal. Among the EPs, wound closure and clot‐mediated tissue adhesion are influenced by the chemical functionality of polyesters with –COOH EPs performing better than –NH 2 EPs.

  PublisherDOI

• Effect of cationic amine chain extender on oxidative and hydrolytic stability in segmented polyurethanes

  Polymer Degradation and Stability · 2025-05-31 · 4 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Graph Neural Networks for Surface Tension Prediction of Polymers: A Comparative Analysis with Descriptor-Based Models

  Macromolecules · 2025-04-13 · 4 citations

  article

  Surface tension is a critical property that influences polymer behavior at interfaces and affects applications ranging from coatings to biomedical devices. Traditional experimental methods for measuring polymer surface tension are time-consuming, costly, and sensitive to environmental conditions. Computational approaches such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are valuable but computationally intensive, especially for polymers with long chains. This study investigates the use of machine learning (ML) techniques to predict polymer surface tension using different levels of molecular representation, focusing on multilinear regression (MLR), random forest (RF), and graph neural networks (GNNs). A data set of 317 homopolymers collected from the PolyInfo database is used to train and evaluate these models. Descriptors are derived at various levels of complexity, ranging from manually calculated features to graph-based representations. The GNN approach captures the intrinsic connectivity of polymer structures, while the MLR and RF models rely on manually crafted descriptors. The performance of these models is compared with experimental data, with the GNN model demonstrating superior accuracy due to its ability to directly learn from molecular graphs. Our results show that GNNs can better capture complex nonlinear relationships in polymer structures than traditional descriptor-based methods, suggesting their significant potential for accelerating polymer design and development. The study also includes validation of model predictions against molecular dynamics simulations, highlighting the potential of GNNs to accurately model polymer interfacial properties.

  PublisherDOI

• Coacervate Dense Phase Displaces Surface-Established <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> Biofilms

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2024-09-11 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  For millions of years, barnacles and mussels have successfully adhered to wet rocks near tide-swept seashores. While the chemistry and mechanics of their underwater adhesives are being thoroughly investigated, an overlooked aspect of marine organismal adhesion is their ability to remove underlying biofilms from rocks and prepare clean surfaces before the deposition of adhesive anchors. Herein, we demonstrate that nonionic, coacervating synthetic polymers that mimic the physicochemical features of marine underwater adhesives remove ∼99% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) biofilm biomass from underwater surfaces. The efficiency of biofilm removal appears to align with the compositional differences between various bacterial biofilms. In addition, the surface energy influences the ability of the polymer to displace the biofilm, with biofilm removal efficiency decreasing for surfaces with lower surface energies. These synthetic polymers weaken the biofilm–surface interactions and exert shear stress to fracture the biofilms grown on surfaces with diverse surface energies. Since bacterial biofilms are 1000-fold more tolerant to common antimicrobial agents and pose immense health and economic risks, we anticipate that our unconventional approach inspired by marine underwater adhesion will open a new paradigm in creating antibiofilm agents that target the interfacial and viscoelastic properties of established bacterial biofilms.

  PublisherDOI

• Effect of Cationic Amine Chain Extender on Oxidative and Hydrolytic Stability in Segmented Polyurethanes

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Effect of Cationic Amine Chain Extender on Oxidative and Hydrolytic Stability in Segmented Polyurethanes

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Programming Surface Motility and Modulating Physiological Behaviors of Bacteria via Biosurfactant-Mimetic Polyurethanes

  ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces · 2024-12-10 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Modulating microbial motility and physiology can enhance the production of bacterial macromolecules and small molecules. Herein, a platform of water-soluble and amphiphilic peptidomimetic polyurethanes is reported as a means of regulating bacterial surface behavior and the concomitant production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). It is demonstrated that carboxyl (−COOH)-containing polyurethanes exhibited 17-fold and 80-fold enhancements in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) swarming and twitching areas, respectively. Conversely, an amine (−NH2)-functionalized polyurethane reduces the P. aeruginosa swarming area by 58%. Similar influences on the surface motility of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and a nonswarming P. aeruginosa mutant strain are also observed. Notably, −COOH polyurethanes completely wet the agar hydrogel surface and promote bacterial surface proliferation, resulting in enhanced EPS and rhamnolipid production. The programming of bacterial spatial migration into designed patterns is achieved by leveraging the opposing influences of −NH2 and −COOH polyurethanes. The results highlight the potential of this synthetic polyurethane platform and potentially other polymer systems as an exciting approach to control bacterial surface behaviors and influence the production of engineered living materials.

  PublisherDOI

• Pendant Amines in the Hard or Soft Segments of PCL-Polyurethanes Have Contrasting Effects on the Mechanical and Surface Properties

  Macromolecules · 2024-04-18 · 26 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Thermoplastic segmented polyurethanes (TPUs) are used in numerous applications due to their versatile mechanical and morphological properties. Various factors, such as the identity, symmetry, molecular weight of the soft and hard segments, and types of chain extenders, influence the properties of segmented polyurethanes. In this study, we systematically varied the location of pendant cationic amines in polycaprolactone-based polyurethanes, positioning them in either the hard or soft segment, where all other parameters are held constant. This study was aimed at understanding the effect of the cationic amine location on the mechanical, morphological, and surface properties of such polyurethanes with the expectation that such studies will provide the framework to broaden the properties of segmented polyurethanes. The results from differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, X-ray scattering, and infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that the location of the functional group significantly affects polyurethane microphase separation, morphology, and interactions between soft and hard segments. When the cationic amine is in the soft segment, the glass transition temperature, storage modulus, and H-bonding increase due to more interface interactions between the soft and hard phases while maintaining a nondisrupted hard segment. Due to its asymmetric structure, incorporating the cationic amine in the hard segment disrupts its crystallinity and increases the hard segment polarity. These factors contribute to improved microphase separation, reduced interphase H-bonding, and reduced toughness. These cationic amine-modified TPUs still maintain their low Young’s modulus (∼10 MPa) while exhibiting a more hydrophilic surface. In addition, the cationic amines demonstrate bactericidal properties due to a contact-killing mechanism.

  PublisherDOI

• Data from Folate Receptor–Targeted Polymeric Micellar Nanocarriers for Delivery of Orlistat as a Repurposed Drug against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

  2023-04-03

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  &lt;div&gt;Abstract&lt;p&gt;Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a recalcitrant malignancy with no available targeted therapy. Off-target effects and poor bioavailability of the FDA-approved antiobesity drug orlistat hinder its clinical translation as a repurposed new drug against TNBC. Here, we demonstrate a newly engineered drug formulation for packaging orlistat tailored to TNBC treatment. We synthesized TNBC-specific folate receptor–targeted micellar nanoparticles (NP) carrying orlistat, which improved the solubility (70–80 μg/mL) of this water-insoluble drug. The targeted NPs also improved the delivery and bioavailability of orlistat to MDA-MB-231 cells in culture and to tumor xenografts in a nude mouse model. We prepared HEA–EHA copolymer micellar NPs by copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethylacrylate (HEA) and 2-ethylhexylacrylate (EHA), and functionalized them with folic acid and an imaging dye. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis of TNBC cells indicated a dose-dependent increase in apoptotic populations in cells treated with free orlistat, orlistat NPs, and folate-receptor–targeted Fol-HEA-EHA-orlistat NPs in which Fol-HEA-EHA-orlistat NPs showed significantly higher cytotoxicity than free orlistat. &lt;i&gt;In vitro&lt;/i&gt; analysis data demonstrated significant apoptosis at nanomolar concentrations in cells activated through caspase-3 and PARP inhibition. &lt;i&gt;In vivo&lt;/i&gt; analysis demonstrated significant antitumor effects in living mice after targeted treatment of tumors, and confirmed by fluorescence imaging. Moreover, folate receptor–targeted Fol-DyLight747-orlistat NP–treated mice exhibited significantly higher reduction in tumor volume compared to control group. Taken together, these results indicate that orlistat packaged in HEA-&lt;i&gt;b&lt;/i&gt;-EHA micellar NPs is a highly promising new drug formulation for TNBC therapy. &lt;i&gt;Mol Cancer Ther; 15(2); 221–31. ©2015 AACR&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NSF/FDA SIR: Defining Print Fidelity and Performance of Bioactive 3D Printed Scaffolds.

  NSF · $100k · 2016–2018

• CAREER: Development of a Multifunctional Polyester Platform and its Evaluation as an Instructive Matrix for Osteoblast Differentiation

  NSF · $500k · 2014–2020

• NSF/FDA SIR: Fabrication and Evaluation of Bioactive and Biodegradable 3D Printed Polymer Scaffolds

  NSF · $100k · 2015–2017

• SusChEM: Design and Evaluation of Soybean Oil Based Adhesives for Aqueous Environments

  NSF · $390k · 2015–2019

Frequent coauthors

• V. Ramamurthy

  34 shared

• Tanmay Jain

  Centre for Development of Advanced Computing

  29 shared

• Amal Narayanan

  University of Akron

  21 shared

• Chao Peng

  Hunan University

  16 shared

• John R. Scheffer

  Paul Scherrer Institute

  15 shared

• Ali Dhinojwala

  15 shared

• Qianhui Liu

  National University of Singapore

  14 shared

• Irada Isayeva

  Center for Devices and Radiological Health

  14 shared

Labs

• Abraham Joy LabPI

Awards & honors

• Burroughs Welcome Award
• 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award
• NSF CAREER Award
• American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fe…
• AIMBE College of Fellows (2025)