Tags: Analytical Seminar


Quantitative Proteomics for Understanding Epigenetics Mechanisms

Histones are small proteins that package DNA into chromosomes, and a large number of studies have showed that several post-translational modification (PTM) sites on the histones are associated with both gene activation and silencing.  Along with DNA and small non-coding RNA, histone PTMs make up epigenetic mechanisms that control gene expression patterns outside of DNA sequence mutations. Dysregulation of these chromatin networks underlie…


Single-Molecule Insights into GPCR Dynamics

G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of membrane proteins in the human genome and play an essential role in signal transduction. These receptors bind a wide range of extracellular ligands, including hormones, neurotransmitters, nucleotides, peptides, and undergo conformational changes in their seven transmembrane domains to activate intracellular signaling pathways. Given their central role in many human physiological…


Research Seminar: "Distinct Lipid Compositions in Seawater and the Sea Surface Microlayer Measured with Liquid Chromatography and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry"

The sea surface microlayer (SML), the 10s to 100s µm thick layer at the air-sea interface, plays an important role in the air−sea exchange of gases and particles. Surfactants accumulate at and modulate the properties of the SML, but specific chemical and physical properties driving variability in their distribution in the SML remain unclear. Lipids are a type of surfactant in the ocean and are biomarkers for dissolved organic matter (DOM)…


Research Seminar: An Investigation into Lipase-Mediated Remodeling of S. aureus Intra- and Extracellular Lipidome

While native to ~30% of the population, S. aureus is labeled a serious health threat by the CDC due to its infectious prevalence and growing antibiotic resistance. While genetic factors have been linked with antibiotic resistance, recent antibiotics such as daptomycin directly target the bacteria’s lipid membrane, yet the impact of physiological and morphological changes to the bacterial membrane on drug resistance is critically understudied.…


The Impact of Exogenous Fatty Acids on the Lipidome and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Gram-Positive Pathogens

Exogenous fatty acids (exoFAs) have been reported to give bacteria such as E. faecalis and S. aureus an advantage over certain membrane-targeting antibiotics, like daptomycin. The impact of exoFAs on conferred tolerance has been most deeply characterized by microbiology assays along with some lipidomic analyses. However, there are key gaps in the understanding of how strains with different genetic determinants for resistance utilize…


Enhanced Spatial Resolution Through Tissue Expansion Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Biomolecular localization and heterogeneity are factors important for signaling and structure in multicellular organisms. Current understandings of metabolic heterogeneity utilize bulk approaches. However, these approaches lack the ability to retain the spatial distribution of metabolites. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) can be employed as an alternative, label-free technique which retains this distribution; however, many commercial instruments…


Subcellular Mass Spectrometry Imaging Using Transmission-Mode Ambient Laser Desorption and Plasma Ionization

Heterogeneity between and within cell populations plays a vital role in in our understanding of spatial biology and disease. Heterogeneity manifests in phenotypical differences between cells, including distinct lipidomic and metabolomic profiles. Typical metabolomics analyses take a bulk approach that removes analytes from their spatial context. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a label-free technique enabling the spatial analysis of…


Research Seminar: Oleksandr Orlov


Spatial Metabolomics Through Desorption Electrospray Ionization Cyclic Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Spatial Metabolomics with the advancement of Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) techniques has been increasingly employed in omics research for detecting metabolites, lipids, and small molecules in tissue.1 Unlike bulk metabolomics that detects metabolites in homogenized samples, spatial metabolomics provides insights to tissue heterogeneity, metabolic microenvironments, and localized biochemical processes while preserving anatomical context.2…


2026 Chemistry Alumni Lecture:
Accelerated Microdroplets Reactions: Mechanism and Applications in Materials and Organic Synthesis

Two publications from this lab, in 2011 and 2012, used mass spectrometry to show that the rates of reactions in microdroplets are accelerated by many orders of magnitude. These experiments used ordinary organic solvents and demonstrated that acceleration occurs at the solution/air interface.  These observations were then extended to a range of classical organic reactions. The Zare group showed reaction acceleration in aqueous microdroplets…
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