Research

Enzyme Hydrogelation
By entrapping proteolytic enzymes within a hydrogel matrix, we introduce a simple, ultra-rapid, and cost-effective method for hydrogel encapsulation of various enzymes. This new method lowers the digestion times from hours to 15 minutes, allowing for immensely quicker sample turnover and increased data acquisition.

Immobilized Enzyme Microreactor (IMER) fabrication
Due to their selectivity, enzymes have been used in analytical chemistry for a wide range of assays. Enzyme immobilization is a novel method whereby autoproteolysis decreases significantly; therefore, a proteolytic enzyme can be used at higher enzyme-to-substrate ratio while cleaving proteins, for faster reaction. Immobilized enzyme reactors (IMERs), once seen only in process chemistry, are being used more frequently in proteomics studies for protein digestion.
The analytical performance of an immobilized enzyme microreactor (IMER) is directly affected by the immobilization process. We focus on the development of innovative strategies for in-situ of immobilized enzyme in capillary tubes using capillary electrophoresis (CE) while the immobilization process is automated.

Protein biomarkers
Our lab is interested in identifying protein biomarkers by providing high enough sensitivity to determine whether a protein or a metabolite in a biological sample is at normal range, or over- or under-produced due to disease and/or therapy. We have been working on biomarkers for equine Cushing’s Disease in horses by digesting the blood sample using our IMER and analyzing the resulting peptides.

Analysis of first responder PPE and decontamination procedures in exposure to IDLH ammonia atmosphere
We have investigated the effect of gaseous ammonia on first responder clothing materials. We have studied the effect of various environmental conditions such as moisture, etc, on different fabrics such as Cotton, Polyester, Linen, Denim, Duck Cotton, Spandex, Neoprene, Leather, Cotton Coveralls Non-Fire Resistant (FR), Cotton Coveralls FR, Nomex/Kevlar Blend and, Poly-Coated Tyvek.