Metabolomics has recently gained momentum in biomolecule research and complements the genomics and proteomics research space. Metabolomics strives to detect, identify, and quantify all metabolites present in biological samples. In particular, biomolecular analysis using ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) has become increasingly important for metabolomic analyses. Similarly,...
We report the use of MIL-120 as a water-stable and cost-effective metal-organic framework (MOF) for selectively capturing CO₂ from wet flue gas. Synthesized using inexpensive and environmentally benign reagents in water, MIL-120 possesses one-dimensional pores decorated with hydroxyl-bridged Al(III) ions and benzene rings with an interstitial spacing of 4.78 Å....
Capstone 1157 is a commercial reference material used in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) applications and was manufactured by DuPont. The material’s purpose in this project was to be the sole carbon source to microbes in a biodegradation study in a microcosm environment. The goal of this project was to...
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of anthropogenic compounds that are used ubiquitously in different industrial fields. However, concerns regarding the potential health impacts of PFAS, including perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids
(PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), has raised stakeholder interest regarding continued use of PFAS. Analytical methods for PFAS...
Ultrafast spectroscopy can exploit the structure-function relationship of chemical- and biological-based systems. More specifically, femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) provides ground- and excited-state vibrational information with simultaneously high spectral (spatial) and temporal resolutions. The electronic counterpart, femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA), complements FSRS data analysis as part of a comprehensive approach...
The discovery of new blue pigments is a field of great interest, as commercially available pigments present properties that make them undesirable such as poor sustainability, cost, and stability. By researching solid solutions with the melilite structure, we discovered a new solid solution Sr2Zn1-xNixGe2O7, with 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.6,...
The presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), organic contaminants first synthesized in the 1940s, has been reported worldwide in a variety of environmental matrices and ultimately in biological systems including humans. Ongoing research into PFAS has included identifying novel PFAS, assessing their fate and transport in the environment, and...
In this dissertation, I describe the experimental investigation of electron diffraction of neutral and ionic clusters doped into superfluid helium droplets. The project is aimed at contributing to the development of an overall approach called ‘serial single molecule electron diffraction imaging (ss-EDI), a potential approach to solve macromolecule structures bypassing...
This dissertation presents a study of structure-property relationships within 3d/4d metal oxides containing precious metals through detailed structure refinements using high-resolution neutron and X-ray diffraction data along with exploration of the resultant properties.
Oxides of 4d or 5d transition metals tend to show new topological phases due to significant spin-orbit...
Photoactivated biomedical tools like fluorescent biosensors and optogenetic proteins have increased in popularity due to the precision targeting and activation used for in vivo applications. In nature, the initially discovered parent proteins exhibit properties such as fluorescence quantum yield (FQY), fluorescence color, and photoswitching dynamics that are unfavorable in mammalian...
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Chong Fang
“The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” – Miyamoto Musashi