Armin Kargol

Professor Armin Kargol is the Interim Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences.  He studied physics and mathematics at the University of Wroclaw in Poland and at Virginia Tech. He did postdoctoral work at the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and at Tulane University in New Orleans. Initially, his research was concerned with mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, including semiclassical and Born-Oppenheimer approximations as well as C*-algebras of operators. Soon after completing his PhD, Prof. Kargol became interested in mathematical modeling of biological processes, in particular transport processes on a cellular level, as well as experimental studies of membrane transport processes. His research now concentrates on nonequilibrium properties of ion channels in cellular membranes. It involves ion channel electrophysiology, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis of channel gating kinetics. Another area of his interest is the thermodynamics of membrane transport processes. Prof. Kargol leads a Biophysics Lab devoted to patch clamping studies on voltage-gated ion channels. His research group includes several undergraduate student researchers. Go to research page.

Prof. Kargol has taught physics in Poland and at Tulane University in New Orleans. At Loyola University he has been responsible for physics courses for pre-health students and for introductory and advanced physics courses for majors.

Selected Publications

A. Kargol, L. Malkinski, G. Caruntu: Biomedical applications of multiferroic particles. In: Advanced Magnetic Materials, InTech (2012)

A. Kargol, M. Kargol: Passive transport processes in cellular membranes. In: Porous media: Applications in biological systems and biotechnology, Taylor and Francis Group, LLC (2011)

A. Kargol, K. Kabza: Test of nonequilibrium kinetic focusing of voltage-gated ion channels, Phys. Biol. 5(2008)026003

A. Kargol: Non-equilibrium studies of voltage-gated ion channels. Proc. Intl. Conf. on Interdisciplinary Science (ISIS), Natchitoches, LA, Oct. 2004, eds. A.Ludu, N.R.Hutchins, D.R.Fry, AIP 2005, p. 159-164

A. Kargol, A. Hosein-Sooklal: Optimal sensitivity analysis of ion channel gating kinetics. J. Membrane Biol. 199 (2004) 113-118

M. Kargol, A. Kargol: Mechanistic equations for membrane substance transport and their identity with Kedem-Katchalsky equations. Biophys. Chem. 103 (2003) 117-127

A. Kargol, B. Smith, M.M. Millonas: Application of nonequilibrium response spectroscopy to the study of channel gating. Experimental design and optimization. J. Theoret. Biol. 218 (2002) 239-258

A. Kargol: A mechanistic model of transport processes in porous membranes generated by osmotic and hydrostatic pressure. J. Membr. Sci. 191 (2001) 61-69

A. Kargol: Modified Kedem-Katchalsky equations and their applications, J. Membr. Sci. 174 (2000) 43-53

Recent Publications

R. Eskandari, L. Malkinski, A. Kargol, A. Ayala, J.D. Alexander, A.U. Kargol, M. Carter, D. Livingston, A. Chalastaras: Multifunctional magnetic composites for biomedical applications, Proc. LA-SiGMA Symposium (2015)

A. Kargol, L. Malkinski, R. Eskandari, M. Carter, D. Livingston: “Cellular Defibrillation”: Interaction of Microscale Electric Field with Voltage Gated Ion Channels. J. Biol. Phys. 41 (2015) 421-431

A. Ayala, J.D. Alexander, A.U. Kargol, L. Malkinski, A. Kargol: Piezoelectric micro- and nanoparticles do not affect growth rates of mammalian cells in vitro. J. Bionanosci. 8 (2014) 309-312

L. Ponzoni, G.L. Celardo, F. Borgonovi, L. Kaplan, A. Kargol: Focusing in Multiwell Potentials: Applications to Ion Channels. Phys. Rev. E 87 (2013) 852137

A. Kargol: Wavelet-based protocols for ion channel electrophysiology. BMC Biophysics 6:3 (2013)