After receiving his Ph.D, Lvov remained in Moscow, becoming a senior researcher and group leader at the
Soviet Academy of Sciences Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography. In this role, he studied protein structures and organic
thin films, while overseeing the work of graduate students. Lvov held this position from 1980-90.
bacteriophage (1983,
Biophysical Journal), and
X-ray and
electron diffraction of
Langmuir-Blodgett films (1989, Soviet Scientific Reviews); key collaborators included
Boris Vainshtein (head of the Institute of Crystallography). At the start of the 1990s, Lvov was in his late 30s and had a stable, successful post supported by the government. That all changed with the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, which by 1991 was in the midst of collapse. During this time, salaries at the
Soviet Academy of Sciences had fallen to unsustainable lows, with academics making less than bus drivers. In early 1991, Lvov, who by this time had achieved recognition outside the Soviet Union, was granted a fellowship by the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and invited to work at the
University of Mainz in Germany. These included a seminal paper focusing on the use of layer-by-layer assembly with
polyallylamine hydrochloride (1993,
Langmuir), a follow-up involving layering polyallylamine hydrochloride and DNA (1993,
Macromolecules), a paper focusing on nanocomposite films for
biosensors (1994,
Biosensors and Bioelectronics), and a final paper which demonstrated proof of multilayer structural organization in self-assembled films (1994,
Thin Solid Films). This research was foundational for subsequent development and application of LbL assembly, including for use in drug delivery, tissue engineering, fuel cell preparation, and anti-reflection / anti-UV coatings. Lvov, Decher, and Möhwald have subsequently been credited as the developers of layer-by-layer assembly for multicomponent films made up of polyions (such as DNA, RNA, and proteins), as well as other charged materials. At the end of 1993, Lvov's fellowship at Mainz came to its conclusion, and in 1994 he moved to Japan to work with the Research Development Corporation of Japan (now known as the
Japan Science and Technology Agency) in Fukuoka. Lvov served as a staff researcher with the Corporation for two years. This paper has been cited more than 1,800 times as indexed by
Google Scholar. This successful collaboration with Ariga led to the pair subsequently co-authoring more than 30 additional papers together, Other significant papers produced during Lvov's time in Japan included an exploration of assembling dye−polyion molecular films via layer-by-layer absorption (1997,
Journal of the American Chemical Society), and an investigation of layer by layer assembly of colloidal SiO2 particles (1997,
Langmuir). Additionally, Lvov, Ariga, Kunitake, and Mitsuhiko Onda were granted two Japanese patents relating to the preparation of ultrathin films. Lvov concluded his time in Japan in 1996, and thereafter immigrated to the United States, where he has conducted the rest of his career. From 1998-99, Lvov joined the
United States Naval Research Laboratory as a research associate professor specializing in biomolecular science and engineering to address Navy needs such as ship antifouling coating. It was during this time that Lvov first began to consider and introduce research relating to his major research focus: halloysite nanotube composites. After leaving the Naval Research Laboratory, Lvov settled at his long-term research institution,
Louisiana Tech University, in 1999. Initially serving as an associate professor from 1999-2003, in 2004 Lvov was named as a chemistry professor, as well as the Tolbert Pipes Eminent Endowed Chair on Micro and Nanosystems. Two additional patents relating to layer-by-layer formation of papers and wood fibers were granted in 2013 and 2014, Research into nanoparticles yielded a further patent grant in 2014, which focused on stable polyelectrolyte coatings for nanoparticles to enable their usage with medications with poor solubility. However, Lvov's most significant research at Louisiana Tech University involved his expansion into a new field: research of
halloysite, a naturally occurring clay material with a hollow nanotubular structure, with which he developed functional nanoclay formulations. The second paper (co-authored with former colleague Ichinose) focused on halloysite's use in layer-by-layer nanofabrication (2002,
Colloids and Surfaces). These papers were the first of more than 90 journal papers, book chapters, and written conference presentations which Lvov authored on halloysite. In subsequent decades, Lvov's initial paper on utilizing halloysite to encapsulate active agents was cited as a pioneering work which enabled the exploration of use of halloysite in medical drug delivery applications. Over the following years, Lvov worked with numerous scientific teams throughout the world to further explore and develop uses for halloysite, particularly in the fields of nanoencapsulation, nanoassembly of ultrathin organized films, and nanocomposites. In 2007, Lvov's work in nanoencapsulation was recognized with the Best of Small Tech Award for Innovator of the Year, an award granted by
Small Times Magazine. Also in 2007, Lvov co-edited (with Ariga and others) the book
Bio‐inorganic Hybrid Nanomaterials: Strategies, Syntheses, Characterization and Applications, while also contributing a chapter co-written with Price (2007,
Wiley-VCH). The following year, Lvov significantly expanded his explorations by analyzing the potential of halloysite nanotubes to be used for the controlled release of active agents over time (2008,
ACS Nano). This significant paper, co-authored with Price, Möhwald, and Dmitry Shchukin, established that halloysite nanotubes could be utilized for the sustained release of therapeutic agents, an essential characteristic for use in medicines. In 2008, Lvov's ongoing work with cancer drug nanoencapsulation, a topic he first received notice for in 2002, was highlighted with an extensive cover story in
Pharma Focus Asia magazine, where Lvov and his student Anshul Agarwal shared the magazine's cover with other global scientific leaders in the nanoencapsulation field. That same year, Lvov led a joint research project focused on nanocarriers for cancer therapy which was co-organized by Louisiana Tech University and the
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia's Nanotechnology Laboratory; the project was selected as one of 2008's 20 most outstanding scientific joint projects between the US and Italy. The next year, Lvov served as the chief organizer and chairman of the Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites Symposium at the Conference of the
American Chemical Society; this was one of five American Chemical Society conferences at which he presented, and one of two (the other being 2008) in which he was presented an Award Certificate by the organization. as well as contributing three articles to the issue which explored the combination of halloysite and layer-by-layer self-assembly for the creation of nanoshells to contain insoluble medicines, serving as an alternative approach to therapeutic drug delivery. In 2013, Lvov was recognized with the
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's Humboldt Research Award in Chemistry in acknowledgement of his extensive work in the field of nanochemistry, while in 2014, he was named a
National Academy of Inventors Fellow. In 2014, Lvov co-edited the book
Cell Surface Engineering: Fabrication of Functional Nanoshells and contributed two chapters, while two of his students contributed to an additional chapter (2014,
Royal Society of Chemistry). Two years later, Lvov co-edited another book,
Functional Polymer Composites with Nanoclays, while contributing two chapters (2016, Royal Society of Chemistry). In 2024, in acknowledgement of his contributions to the University, Louisiana Tech recognized Lvov with its inaugural Distinguished Research Excellence Award. In the following years, Lvov's ongoing work with halloysite led to Louisiana Tech University becoming a major contributor of scientific research and discoveries relating to the material. Lvov's students have completed doctoral dissertations on halloysite, and in one case been awarded a fellowship with the
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Commercialization efforts have resulted in Lvov being granted a US patent for layer-by-layer nanocoating with halloysite for paper fabrication (2010), a patent for using a halloysite nanotube to form a microreservoir with end plugs for the controlled release of a corrosion inhibitor (2013), a patent for halloysite-based ceramic nanotube composites for use with bone repair and implants (2015), two patents relating to incorporating halloysite into geopolymers to slow their polymerization reaction (2017-18), three patents relating to halloysite's use for the encapsulation of dyes for human hair and natural fibers (2019-20), and two additional patents granted to Lvov and the cosmetics company
L'Oréal for the development of a halloysite-based microtube-dye composite for hair coloring (2023-24). Lvov's 2010 work on coatings and manufacturing techniques for paper led to him establishing a small licensing company, Nano Pulp and Paper, to commercialize the technology. In 2013, a joint effort between Lvov and
Grambling State University resulted in the development of an experimental anti-corrosion paint for use in oil and gas settings; the companies
Cameron International,
PPG Industries, and
Schlumberger were the commissioning entities. Additional commercial research and applications have included collaborations with
Baxter International to develop protein drug encapsulation, with
Novartis for eye lens nanocoating, and with
Sappi,
Smurfit Westrock, and
International Paper for the strengthening of paper cellulose. ==References==