Chemistry and Materials Science
Folded or Self-Assembled Molecular Systems
Molecular recognition followed by nano-actuation to accomplish a specific task is ubiquitously used in biological machinery. Most research to date has been focused on building an “harmonic” interface between soft biomolecules and hard man-made materials; whereas our research focuses on integrating smart biological functionality with desired physical properties into a single foldable hybrid macromolecule. Of particular importance is that such hybrid macromolecules are complete packages with necessary properties, including molecular recognition and nano-actuation that trigger a sensitive optical absorption or fluorescent emission change. Applications of these “smart” polymers as biosensors and molecular machinery should have tremendous impact in the fields of genomics, diagnosis of infectious disease, and biological Threat Reduction (TR) and therefore help solve a great variety of problems in health, environment, and national security.
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Figure 1. Photograph of photoluminescence from monomer and folded oligomers at various concentrations. |
Using such “smart” hybrid polymers, we have demonstrated that it is possible to detect the presence of target DNA molecules or regulatory proteins, or even a single nick in a double stranded DNA. Current detection platforms are based on changes of photoluminescence color. In collaboration with Dr. Ray Reeves at the School of Molecular Bioscience, we are exploring innovative ways to apply foldable polymers for identifying high-mobility-group protein biomarkers of many types of cancers. Recently, we have demonstrated that protein binding induces a distinct color change in the foldable polymer under laboratory-controlled conditions. Our long-term objectives are to use these foldable macromolecules to probe regulatory events in vivo and to further our understanding of abnormal cell transformations underlying molecular mechanisms of disease. Furthermore, we are interested in applying foldable hybrid polymers in the detection of biological threat agents through binding of specific target sites or signature biomolecules (DNA or proteins).
Current research programs in Dr. Li’s lab focus on:
- Biosensors (DNA and DNA damage, regulatory proteins)
- Thermophilic foldable polymers
- Self-organized nanostructures
- Macromolecular self-assemblies and nanoparticles
- Advanced photonic materials and molecular machinery
- Synthetic and biological hybrid polymers
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Figure 2. A thermophilic pentamer
has a chromophoric core surrounded by DNA hairpin
structures. Recognition to target DNA triggers
unfolding and induces dramatic color changes. |
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Contact Information
Alexander D. Li, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry
Washington State University
PO Box 644630
Pullman, WA 99164-4630
Telephone: 509-335-7196
E-mail: dequan@wsu.edu
Physical and Computational Sciences
Nanomaterials: Electronic, Photonic, and Bionic Applications
Nanomaterials, notable for their extremely small size, offer immense opportunities for wide-ranging industrial, biomedical, and electronic applications. Washington State University is nationally recognized for its nanomaterials research in electronic, photonic, and bionic applications. The faculty highlighted here provides a sampling of both established and recently added research programs. Each of these faculty and their many collaborators are making important impacts in their respective areas.
- David Bahr
- K.W. Hipps
- Marie-Pierre Laborie
- Alexander D. Li
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Dr. Alexander Li received his B.
S. in polymer chemistry at Jilin University |
