My Work
Before it was known as nanotechnology, my research work dealt with analysis in the nanoliter realm. This was done through the use of capillary electrophoresis, which is a technique that uses a capillary tube to analyze quantities that are in the nanoliter range. This allows the analysis of an environment with a very limited sample quantity, such as tear fluid, to quantitatively determine the sample composition. In general, this technology has allowed us to perform nano-separations of components, mainly of biomolecules. Now in my lab, we also analyze new materials contained in nanoliter quantities that involve nanomaterials.
In one approach, we study how nanoparticles are made and how they can interact with each other, as well as with other materials. For example, in the biomedical field, if a nanoparticle has been modified by putting an antibody on its surface, we can monitor the interaction of a particular substance with the antibody that is attached to that particle. My research group also studies the effect of nanoparticles in the environment and how they interact with organic matter.
Eventually we’d like to analyze a single cell in a person. The volume of a cell is sometimes beyond the nanoscale. Ideally, we’d like to be able to sample a picoleter (1000 times smaller than a nano) or even a femtoliter (a million times smaller than nano) and analyze it, determining the molecular problems at the single cell level.
I’m interested in analytical materials and the chemistry of analyzing environments that are so minute, that they are smaller than the nano range. Nanotechnology is the first step to that.
My Research
Our research efforts focus on chemical analysis in the micron- and nano-scales regimes, which encompass different areas.
One of such areas involves the synthesis and characterization of new materials with defined nanostructures applicable to chromatographic chemical analysis. These materials include monolithic structures of metal oxides and organo-silica nanoparticles. We seek a fundamental understanding of the properties of these materials and the chemical processing conditions involved in their fabrication, as well as their implementation in separation sciences.
Another aspect of our research makes use of analytical capillary separation technology to analyze nanoliter quantities of samples for identification and quantification of the sample components. For example, we use capillary electrophoresis (CE) to determine, among others, pharmaceutical drugs, proteins, and DNA fragments in biomedical/biochemical related work with sample-limited quantities. CE is also used to separate and study the interaction of nanoparticles (eg., CdSe/ZnS nanopartricles), including bioconjugated nanoparticles, with other nanoparticles and/or other substances.
These investigations are intended to have applicability in separation-based sensors and in the study of binding affinity of nanoparticles with naturally occurring organic matter in the environment. The latter would contribute to the understanding of the environmental impact of nanoparticles as a potential pollutant.