Jul12
Posted on Jul 12 by
Dr. Gerdon is thinking about new adventures with DNA origami by starting with paper and a few folds. Tabs and pockets hold the six pieces of paper together to make this cube. Over 200 synthetic strands of DNA base-pair to M13 phage DNA to hold this DNA origami tile together and hopefully we’ll see it in action in the lab in the coming weeks! This summer of research has been a challenge and has been a lot of fun! We are so glad to be back to chemistry research, learning, struggling, and learning some more to come up with completely amazing, new experiments. The group – Amanda, Esther, Grace, Julia, Luz, and Rylie – has worked really hard and we have great new data to...
Jul06
Posted on Jul 6 by
Grace is so excited to be doing summer research with the GRAB lab team this summer! She has begun working on Headspace Extraction, Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME), and GC-MS analysis of ignitable molecules. Her plan is to develop the GRAB lab’s own in-house reference library of ignitable molecules! She has completed headspace analysis and compiled chromatograms and mass spectra of 10 molecules and gasoline and diesel standards so far! Next, she is working on development of a method for SPME and then compiling data on the same molecules and standards using SPME. Grace has had a great time during summer research so far and cannot wait to see what the rest of the summer will...
Jun29
Posted on Jun 29 by
This week Luz finished performing headspace analysis of volatile liquids, hexane and gasoline, on four sample fabrics. These fabrics are denim, linen, polyester, and nylon. The headspace analysis using the GC-MS instrument has shown– through chromatograms and mass spectra, that this method is most likely not sensitive enough to detect the molecules or that the method needs to be adjusted. This is where Luz will get to add in solid-phase microextraction (SPME) to work on improving...
Jun29
Posted on Jun 29 by
The GRAB Lab is excited to welcome Esther Hines, chemistry instructor from Billerica Memorial High School, to the group! Esther is part of our NSF-funded research that includes recruiting an amazing high school chemistry teacher to the group for several weeks over the summer to learn about our work, re-engage in chemistry research activity, and develop an experiment to take back to her high school class. The group is excited for the opportunity to work with Esther and to hopefully visit her class, lab, and students in the fall...
Jun29
Posted on Jun 29 by
Congratulations to Bobby Tzepos and Easwer Raman on their recent publication in Electroanalysis! A number of students worked on this project at Emmanuel College, including Marianna Barnhart and Katarina Kozicki, in addition to all the hard work that Bobby and Easwer put in. This project originated with Dr. Gerdon, Dr. Lauren Toote, and Dr. David Wright at Vanderbilt University and we had some great help from Dr. David Cliffel and Dr. Evan Gizzie. What a great team project! The electrochemistry is the highlight of this work along with the nanoparticle synthesis and conjugation strategies. Check out the work here: https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/elan.202100108 and here:...
Jun25
Posted on Jun 25 by
Julia is so excited to be back in the lab for the summer! It is her first time doing summer research on campus. Julia has started running collagen and mineralization QCM experiments with the two sets of instruments that are in the lab. She is planning on continuing these experiments, and hopefully start incorporating new mineralization solutions. She is also planning on ordering and working with DNA origami in the future! She is excited to learn as much as she can from this...
