Rong Zhang - US grants

This ocean sciences instrumentation development project will design and build fiber optic sensors for continuous sensitive measurements of pCO2 in sea water. CO2 plays a major role in the biogeochemical cycle. Studying these complicated processes require precise quantitative measurements of small changes in CO2 in order to understand the extent of the ocean's contribution to the global CO2 cycle. The advent of optical fibers within the past decade is producing an impact on chemical sensor technology. Optical sensors consist of reagents attached to the distal tip of an optical fiber that change their optical properties upon exposure to a specific analyte. These sensors are small (approximately 200 microns), require no direct electrical connection between the sample and sensor, and are free from electromagnetic interference. These characteristics make optical sensors ideal for measurements at sea. This project aims to develop deployable instrumentation based on optical sensors for continuous sensitive pCO2 measurements in seawater. The project is divided into three parts. 1) Sensor/indicator development will be conducted at Tufts. Novel indicating schemes with enhanced sensitivity and internal calibration capability will be examined. 2) Laboratory-based measurements will be conducted using both research and field portable instruments to verify the use of these indicating schemes for seawater pCO2 measurements. This aspect of the work will be a collaborative project with Tufts and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 3) Shipboard measurements of sensors for field proofing will be conducted by Woods Hole/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institution personnel.

- 9 \ Z Z Z Z Z Z Z h h h h h r | 4 R \ \ 9313458 Walt The Tufts Chemistry Department has undergone a rejuvenation in all aspects of its program during the last decade. The research program has abandoned the traditional areas of analytical, inorganic, organic and physical chemistry to pursue the field of materials, environmental, and biomedical chemistry. These focus areas are strengths not only of the department, but of the university as well. A resurgence in research and funding activities, and the recruitment of new faculty, has made it necessary to renovate and upgrade the department's two research and training buildings, Pearson and Michael laboratories, constructed in 1923 and 1968 respectively. Although adequate space exits within the Pearson-Michael complex to meet the needs of anticipated faculty and students, the space is presently underutilized due to antiquated conditions. Original laboratories are unusable because they are contain asbestos, have inadequate electrical and plumbing systems, and no operable fume hoods. ARI funds have been requested to renovate laboratory space and the general infrastructure, specifically, the electrical and plumbing systems, HVAC and fire safety systems. These renovations will allow faculty to consolidate their research activities that are currently dispersed over several locations in the two buildings. Modernization of the facilities will provide a safe, well equipped environment for faculty and student to conduct research. 9 9 Fincode Text Only! G 9 9 9 Tms Rmn ` Symbol Helv Chicago 0 Courier Palatino Easy Street Chicago Ridge Bar Code 39 Chicago LW Berkshire Monaco LabelWriter "

ABSTRACT EEC-9529533 Henderson-Kinney There is a great need for field instrumentation that can address complex questions associated with the characterization and monitoring of hazardous waste sites. Research at Tufts University is addressing many of these needs. This is a planning grant to determine if Tufts University can obtain sufficient industrial support to become a research site of the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Hazardous Waste Management. Tufts University proposes to plan to become the sixth research site of the Center, the first outside of New Jersey. Tufts University proposes to expand the multi-university Center's research agenda by addressing a Field Electrochemical and Microelectronic Program, A Fiber Optic Chemical Sensor Program, In Situ and On-site Characterization and Monitoring of Subsurface Contamination Program and a Field Characterization Program. The researchers are recognized experts in their fields and can manage the activities of this planning grant.

Professor David Walt of Tufts University is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to create a microsensor platform that can make simultaneous electrochemical and optical measurements. The major objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of performing multiplexed analysis using electrochemiluminescence (ECL). The PI has pioneered the use of random optical arrays for multiplexed analysis. In this project, the PI is creating a hybrid optical and electrochemical sensor array by deposition of gold in micron-diameter, open silica capillaries, which also function as optical fibers. Optical microbeads will be prepared, inserted into wells in the fibers and excited by an electropotential applied through the microwires. The resulting emitted light will be collected through the fiber. The beads are coated with conducting polyaniline or polypyrrole so that they can be functionalized to detect various species. The long-term goal involves the creation of a universal platform in which either optical or electrochemical (or both types of) sensors can be interrogated individually in an array format. The coupling of electrochemistry and spectroscopy increases the amount of information that can be obtained from a given sensor, preventing false positives.

There is a great need for next generation sensors that can detect numerous species accurately and inexpensively. The integrated platform being created in this project will allow applications in the clinical, environmental and chemical and bioprocess control areas. The array platform should enable new types of chemical imaging measurements with micrometer spatial resolution, which could be used in medical diagnostics and the study of biological cells. This research exposes students to several disciplines including chemistry, optics, physics and biology.

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program (MRI), Krishna Kumar and colleagues David L. Kaplan, David H. Lee, Elena V. Rybak-Akimova and David R. Walt from Tufts University will acquire a two channel 500 MHz NMR spectrometer with pulsed field gradients for use by multiple investigators spanning three departments and two schools on the Medford campus of the University. The NMR spectrometer will enable research by a diverse group of researchers in the chemical and biological sciences ranging from characterization of organometallic/protein complexes and cellulose polymers, to the analysis of non-natural fluorinated peptides and post-translational modifications of proteins that direct supramolecular self-assembly.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, to characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solution. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry and biochemistry.

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University will focus its annual international Symposium on Next Generation Diagnostics, convening up to 480 of the Wyss Institute's vast network of collaborators, students, researchers, faculty and clinicians alongside industrial researchers, and members of academic institutions and foundations leading the development of diagnostics technology. Through invited speakers, discussion and the exchange of ideas, the Wyss Institute Symposium looks to highlight the latest developments of this emerging field and address the need for more accurate, rapid, and lower cost diagnostic technologies to meet clinical challenges in hospitals, in physician's offices, at home, and at the point-of-care in both the developed and developing world. Presentations will focus on translation and accelerating the development and application of diagnostic technologies toward commercial and clinical applications.


This Symposium will allow the Wyss Institute to bring together leading academic and industrial researchers in the field of diagnostics from around the world to discuss emerging efforts in the diagnostics field by identifying challenges to the advancement and translation of diagnostics technology, and looking for opportunities to leverage the expertise of its faculty and researchers with that of world class experts to promote collaboration; furthering its mission and helping to advance the future of diagnostics technology. The Wyss has planned for three themed sessions followed by a fireside chat styled discussion at the Symposium comprised of Wyss Institute faculty, staff, and national experts. During the first three sessions, speakers are allocated 25 minutes each, followed by 5 minutes for questions, and most if not all the presentations are to be focused on elements of work in this field that have the potential for near term impact. Of particular interest are insights from invited speakers on the particular challenges of translating technology including approaches toward both commercial applications and the clinic. Through a fireside chat and opportunities for reflection for a small group of influencers following the symposium, the Wyss Institute will further provide an opportunity to explore the potential for new national and international collaborations.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.