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 are only a few of the other applications of aptamers.

Nature uses sequence-defined (having a precise sequence of units) monodisperse (same molecular weight) polymers for the data storage and transfer (DNA, RNA), for the control of properties and structure (proteins), for the efficient catalysis of various reactions (enzymes), and many more. However, these bio-macromolecules have limited stability and lack chemical and structural diversity. Current methods for the preparation of sequence-defined monodisperse polymers are usually based on solid support synthesis.

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 symmetry. Both heavy chains have a single N-linked glycosylation site.

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 molecules.

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, faculty members will provide insight on effective networking skills necessary for navigating conferences.

X-ray-induced photodynamic therapy (X-PDT) holds the potential to overcome the shallow tissue penetration issue associated with conventional photodynamic therapy (PDT). To this end, complex and sometimes toxic scintillator-photosensitizer nanoconjugates are often used, posing barriers for large-scale manufacturing and regulatory approval. Herein, we report a streamlined X-PDT strategy based on CsI(Na)@MgO nanoparticles and 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA).

Metalloproteins catalyze nitric oxide (NO) chemistries in bioenergetics pathways, natural product biosynthesis pathways, and to protect against cell damage caused by nitrosative stress. Our lab is interested in the mechanisms of oxidative NO-dependent metalloenzymes involved in natural product biosynthesis and nitrosative stress protection. Understanding the mechanisms of these enzymes will enable the engineering of nitration biocatalysts and provide insight into how human pathogens evade the human immune response.

Essential across all domains of life, enzymes often expedite challenging biological reactions by incorporating transition metal ions whose oxidation and spin states are coordinated with changes in atomic structure. While great strides have been made in the field of metalloenzymology, our understanding of these dynamic processes remains limited as the timescales on which they occur render visualization technically challenging.

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.

As the population and its demand for electricity increases, the call for renewable energy has been growing ever louder. Unfortunately, these energy sources (namely wind and solar power) can not always meet real-time needs. In order to gain the most from these energy sources while being able to cover their gaps in production, the need for storage of excess energy at the grid-level has become apparent.