Tags: Analytical Seminar


Exploiting Chemical Modifications for Structural Elucidation by Mass Spectrometry

Chemical modifications combined with mass spectrometry have been extensively used for identification and quantification of compounds of interest. Applications range from sample derivatization to the use of bioconjugation and chemical probes of protein structure. The Webb Lab uses solution and gaseous chemistries to facilitate the identification of compounds and their three-dimensional structures. We have used derivatization in the gas phase, a…


New Frontiers in Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry: Challenges and Solutions

Advances in mass spectrometry instrumentation and experimental design have led to significant inroads in the characterization of biological molecules like proteins and lipids, thus translating to new applications in the field of proteomics, lipidomics and structural biology. Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) is a fast, higher energy ion activation mode that results in extensive and information fragmentation of molecules, and ion activation/…


Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots as a Sensing Platform for the Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria

Graphene oxide quantum dots (GQDs) are a zero-dimensional (0D) nanomaterial of the carbon family that has attracted much attention in biomedical applications. Top-down and bottom-up approaches are used to synthesize GQDs. Exfoliation of carbon precursors from GQDs is a top-down strategy that includes chemical exfoliation, electrochemical exfoliation, hydrothermal/solvothermal exfoliation, and microwave/ultrasound-assisted exfoliation, whereas…


Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) for Rapid Aptamer Selection

Aptamers are ribonucleic acids (RNA) or single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules that demonstrate high affinity and specificity for a wide range of targets.  These molecules possess several advantages such as good tissue penetration and are easily modified for increased stability and combination therapy.  Consequently, aptamers are used as drugs and diagnostic tools. Bioimaging, analytical reagents, and toxin/hazardous chemical detection…


Analysis of N- & O-linked Glycopeptides

Glycosylation is an important and common post translational modification in proteins. Glycoproteins are proteins that carry one of more glycans covalently attached to a polypeptide backbone, usually via N- or O-linkages. One of the most abundant glycoproteins in human serum is Immunoglobulin G (IgG), a type of antibody. IgG is composed of four subunits, two identical light chains and two identical heavy chains, forming a structure with twofold…


Characterizing Surfactants in Marine Water using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Surfactants are organic molecules that have surface active properties that reduce the surface tension of solutions. Surfactants can be found in marine water systems and originate from both natural and anthropogenic sources. These compounds are characterized by having a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail. This chemical structure causes surfactants to accumulate and orient themselves on the surface of the ocean in a microlayer of organic…


CGSO Roundtable: A Discussion on Personal Development and Networking in Graduate School

The Chemistry Graduate Student Organization Networking Committee would like to have an open roundtable discussion about the importance of personal development and networking as a student progressing through graduate school and preparing for an evolving job market. A sense of community is an important part of having a successful graduate career and generating discussion is an important way of making such progress. To lead the discussion,…


Capture the 5,000,000 Missing Pieces in Proteomics Enrichment by FAIMS

The diverse post translational modifications (PTMs) add up the already enormous in number, meanwhile low abundance for certain species of proteomes with even more complexity. As efforts to enrich peptides and proteins of interest out of complex mass spectral background, various fractionation, separation, enrichment, and feature detection strategies are extensively implemented. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC), and its varieties are…


Analytical Seminar: Thesis Presentations

This week, there will be three-minute thesis presentations from nine senior graduate students: Zhengwei Chao, Cynthia Tope, Rob Williams, Yongwook Kim, Tret Burdette, Lily Birx, Fangchao Jiang, Tanvir Ahmed, and Yiqing Zhang


Ionic Liquids as Antifouling Polymeric Nanoparticle Coatings

One of the major challenges facing intravenous nanoparticle administration is the formation of protein coronae on the surface of injected nanoparticles, which prevents them from reaching the target tissue. Biocompatible ionic liquids (ILs) have been shown to have tunable interactions with biomolecules including proteins and are prone to rearrangement on charged surfaces. We show that this can be exploited to use designer protein avoidant-ionic…
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