Analytical Sciences with Nanoporous Materials

纳米多孔材料可以被合理地设计以增强用于化学和生物化学分析的材料的期望性质。在我们的项目中，我们正在研究自组装和制造方法，用于材料制造，以创建设备和表面，并应用于生命科学。我们的重点是DNA和蛋白质分离，以及肽，蛋白质和代谢物质谱。制造技术使我们能够设计纳米多孔介质的孔径，顺序和材料特性，而已知的表面化学合成技术使我们能够进一步控制材料的特性和性能。我们正在研究在分离中发生的性能改进，以及在质谱分析的样品电离中，这些改进来自我们的制造技术提供的材料工程。我们将能够提高分析性能，或创造新的分析手段，使用我们的纳米多孔材料的制造方法。对材料及其孔隙率的出色工程控制也使我们能够探索分离和质谱电离所涉及的机制。我们开发的技术可应用于生物分子的分析，并将支持继续寻找重要的生物标志物，这些生物标志物可以提供早期疾病检测，并有助于了解生命的基本引擎。

Nanoporous materials can be rationally designed to enhance the desired properties of a material for applications in chemical and biochemical analysis. In our program we are examining both a self-assembled and a manufactured methodology for material fabrication to create devices, and surfaces, with applications in the life sciences. Our focus is on DNA and protein separation, and in peptide, protein and metabolite mass spectrometry. The fabrication techniques allow us to engineer the pore size, order and material properties of the nanoporous media, while known surface chemistry synthetic techniques allow us to further control the properties and performance of the materials. We are examining the performance improvements that occur in separation, and in sample ionization for mass spectrometry, which arise from the material engineering our fabrication techniques provide. We will be able to improve analytical performance, or create new means of analysis, using our methods of fabrication of nanoporous materials. The excellent engineering control over the materials and their porosity also allows us to explore the mechanisms involved in separation, and in ionization for mass spectrometry. The techniques we develop have applications in the analysis of biomolecules, and will support the continuing search for important biomarkers that can provide early disease detection, and aid out understanding of the fundamental engines of life.