Tags: Analytical Seminar


Polarized Optical Microscopy: Understanding crystalline morphology and manipulations in biopolymer Polylactic acid (PLA)

Polarized Optical Microscopy (POM) is a technique used to quantitatively and qualitatively characterize birefringent samples. Image contrast arises from the optically anisotropic samples interacting with plane polarized light to produce two individual, perpendicular wave components. POM is commonly used to study crystalline morphology in plastics and composites, as well as to visualize fundamental polymer orientations and crystallization…


Positron Emission Tomography (PET): Fundamentals and Clinical Applications

Positron emission tomography (PET), a nuclear medicine technique, has been applied as an effective clinical tool to diagnose physiological metabolic process based on different functional radiotracers. Most commonly used radiotracer is [18F]Fluorodexyglucose ([18F]FDG), which plays an important role in PET imaging in oncology, cardiology and neurology.[1]18F is an unstable neutron-deficient isotope and can go through positron decay, during which…


Next-generation sequencing technologies and their applications

DNA sequencing technologies have existed since the early 1970s. The automated Sanger sequencing developed by and named after Frederick Sanger is considered as a “first-generation” technology[1]. Sanger shared 1980 chemistry Nobel prize with Walter Gilbert due to their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids[2]. The finished-grade Human Genome Project was dominantly supported by Sanger sequencing. However,…


Ferrohydrodynamic Cell Separation on a Microfluidic Chip

Isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood provides a minimally-invasive alternative for basic understanding, diagnosis, and prognosis of metastatic cancer. The roles and clinical values of CTCs are under intensive investigation, yet most studies are limited by technical challenges in the comprehensive enrichment of intact and viable CTCs with minimal white blood cell (WBC) contamination. Here, we report a novel method based on…


Ultrasmall Gd@Cdots as a Radiosensitizer to Enhance Radiotherapy Against Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is diagnosed in 187,000 people each year in the United States. Radiation therapy (RT) is a standard care for most patients. However, the maximum radiation dose is limited to ~60-70Gy due to severe side effects such as neutropenic fever and Grade 3 esophagitis. To overcome this limitation, radiosensitizing agents, such as cisplatin and etoposide, are often used with RT. However, the conventional radiosensitizer…


Advances in Tandem Mass Spectrometry Approaches for the Structural Characterization of Sulfated Glycosaminoglycans

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are complex linear carbohydrates that participate in a broad range of biological processes.1 Their structural analysis is challenging, and there has been considerable research into tandem MS approaches. Electron activation methods such as electron detachment dissociation (EDD) produce glycosidic fragments and an abundance of cross-ring fragmentation, but this approach is confined to FTICR mass spectrometers. EDD has…


Analysis of Heterogeneous and Higher Molecular mass analytes using Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry

Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry (CD-MS), quantifies the charge on an individual ion and, from a velocity measurement of each electrostatically accelerated ion, also determines its mass-to-charge ratio. Together these measurements allow a calculation of the mass for a highly charged ion. CD-MS extends the reach of mass spectrometry into the giga Dalton regime. It also allows the analysis of very heterogeneous samples. Mixtures of high mass…


Developing novel lead compounds for kynurenine-3-monooxygenase inhibition

Kynurenine Monooxygenase (KMO) is a potential drug target for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease1-3. In this study, we tested kynurenine analogs and sulfonylureas predicted by a pharmacophore model4 for competitive inhibition of KMO. Given the therapeutic relevance of KMO inhibition, and that obtaining a pure recombinant human KMO is still a challenge, our lab seeks to crystallize Cytophaga hutchinsonii (ch) KMO and hopefully…


Breaking through the diffraction limit: Super Resolution Microscopy as a chemistry tool

Traditionally used in cell biology, super resolution microscopy (SRM) has become a valuable tool for observing chemistry in action. With resolution capabilities down to 10 nm, SRM has succeeded in observing samples below the theoretical limit of light microscopy. The major SRM techniques utilize the chemical potential and photoactivation characteristics of fluorophores as well as deconvolution of raw image data to obtain high resolution images.…


Building Superior Biomolecules: Enhancing ADCs, Replacing ELISA, and Resurrecting ADEPT

Antibodies are important biological scaffolds used in biotherapeutics and diagnostics. The utility of antibodies can be expanded by coupling them with small-molecule drugs or proteins. Using both protein engineering and bioconjugation chemistry, we have created a series of highly-characterized antibody-conjugates that simultaneously deliver multiple drugs to induce new forms of synthetic lethality. Using these platforms, we are able to…
Subscribe to Analytical Seminar

Support Us

We appreciate your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. Click here to learn more about giving.

Every dollar given has a direct impact upon our students and faculty.

Got More Questions?

Undergraduate inquiries: chemreg@uga.edu 

Registration and credit transfers: chemreg@uga.edu

AP Credit, Section Changes, Overrides, Prerequisites: chemreg@uga.edu

Graduate inquiries: chemgrad@uga.edu

Contact Us!

Assistant to the Department Head: Donna Spotts, 706-542-1919 

Main office phone: 706-542-1919 

Main Email: chem-web@franklin.uga.edu

Head of Chemistry: Prof. Jason Locklin