This fall marks Noah’s first semester conducting research in the lab, and it’s been an exciting learning experience so far! Recently, he’s been focusing on studying the demineralization process of mouse teeth using lactic acid or EDTA (ethylenediaminetetracetic acid) and confirming the results through infrared (IR) spectroscopy. By comparing the IR spectra of demineralized and fully mineralized teeth, he’s been able to observe key changes in phosphate peaks that indicate mineral loss. Each week brings new techniques and challenges, from refining sample prep to planning future experiments with thin sectioning the teeth using the microtome, and calcein staining with fluorescence microscopy. Noah is looking forward to seeing how the project develops over the rest of this semester and into next, as there’s still so much to explore and learn about how these processes can inform future biomaterial regeneration applications!
Noah Carreiro ’26 – First Semester of Research
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