Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Heart valve disease is life-threatening in which heart valves do not function properly. Surgery is required to repair or replace the damaged valve for severe valve disease. Bioprosthetic heart valves are made from animal-derived materials, such as bovine pericardium (BP) or porcine heart valves, often work for many years in adults. However, when used in children, they tend to fail as early as one year from valve calcification and structural degeneration.

We are broadly interested in using mass spectrometry-based platforms to learn more than just the mass about chemical species. During this talk two examples of this will be presented. In the first, infrared ion spectroscopy will be presented as one path toward direct structural probing of gas-phase ions, with the goal of isomer differentiation. Hydroxyproline isomers will be presented as a case study toward this effect. In the second, our work to gain molecular-level understanding of ionic liquid degradation products will be presented.

The prevalence of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections is on the rise, primarily due to the rapid development of resistance mechanisms by S. aureus against commonly used antibiotics.¹ Daptomycin, the last-resort antibiotic for MRSA, has encountered challenges as studies reveal acquired resistance by S.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of hospital and community-acquired infections. Although uncommon, resistance to daptomycin is mediated by mutations in genes associated with the regulation, synthesis, or relocation of fatty acids and membrane lipids. These mutations influence physical properties such as cell surface charge, cell membrane fluidity, and daptomycin resistance, however, recent results were unable to provide an in-depth isomeric comparison between daptomycin susceptible and resistant strains.

As our global population continues to grow and demand more resources, development of more advanced methods of chemical production and catalysis in an efficient manner are paramount. One such route to advancing catalysis in transition metal chemistry is to utilize not only abundant, inexpensive first-row transition metals, but also utilize more complex means of controlling chemistry around these metal centers.

In combating the global warming crisis, there is a particular interest in mitigating fossil fuel use as it remains a significant source of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. One solution for reducing fossil fuel emissions is the development of alternative fuel sources that are clean and renewable such as hydrogen gas (H₂). Natural systems have evolved efficient machinery utilizing cheap, earth-abundant metals that can provide sources of alternative fuel.

The increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance underscores the pressing need for studies aimed at understanding its underlying mechanisms. Bacterial membrane lipids provide an avenue for studies, as they are crucial for maintaining the integrity and functionality of bacterial cell membranes. However, in-depth studies on the involvement of bacterial membrane lipids require working with numerous bacterial samples, which necessitates the need for a high-throughput lipid extraction method.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) - polypeptides that lack a defined three-dimensional structure – are commonplace in eukaryotic proteomes and often have critical impact on correct functioning of biological processes. IDPs can mediate low affinity interactions between proteins and serve as a scaffold or intermediate binding agent.