DISEASE DIAGNOSIS, BIODEFENSE AMONG UH
CHEMICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
American Chemical Society Meeting Provides Forum for 33 Presentations
HOUSTON, March 14, 2005 – With 33 presentations of original
research that showcase applications ranging from early-stage disease
diagnosis to fuel cells and batteries, the University of Houston
will be well represented at the 229th National Meeting of the American
Chemical Society (ACS), March 13 to 17 in San Diego.
Founded in 1876, the ACS is a nonprofit, scientific and educational
organization and the largest scientific society in the world with
an international membership of more than 159,000 chemists and chemical
engineers. Chartered by the U.S. Congress, ACS is a world leader
in fostering chemical education and research.
Faculty members of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
and Cullen College of Engineering, in addition to numerous graduate
students, are among the UH attendees. Presenters and presentations
include:
- Rigoberto Advincula, associate professor of chemistry, and his
research group will present 22 papers with recent research results
based on two major themes – polymer-nanoparticle hybrid
materials and polymer loops and brushes. Polymer materials and
ultrathin polymer films have applications in advanced electronics,
display technology, biosensors and biomedical devices. Advincula
also is sole presenter on the paper “Electropatterning and
nanopatterning of conjugated polymer ultrathin films: The precursor
polymer approach.”
- Steven Baldelli, assistant professor of chemistry, will present
research with applications in batteries and fuel cells. His paper
is titled “Surface spectroscopy of room-temperature ionic
liquids at the platinum-liquid electrochemical interface.”
- Chengzhi Cai, assistant professor of chemistry, will present
research on “Protein nanoarrays on monolayers presenting
oligo (ethylene glycol)s on Si(111) surfaces.” The long-term
goal of this research focuses on the preparation of nanometer-sized
arrays of sensor molecules that are relevant to early-stage disease
diagnosis, when treatment is still an option. Cai also is an author
on four other papers that will be presented at the ACS meeting.
- Dar-Chone Chow, assistant professor of chemistry, will discuss
“Thermodynamics of interactions between glucose and maltose
binding protein.” His group’s poster presents progress
toward better understanding of the chemical and physical driving
forces of carbohydrate-protein interactions that are important
in biological systems.
- Roman S. Czernuszewicz, associate professor of chemistry, will
present research on “Resonance Raman spectroscopy of nitrophorins.”
Nitrophorins are a family of heme proteins found in certain insects
that store nitric oxide (NO). Having importance in many areas
of human health, NO is useful in lowering blood pressure, treating
cancer and increasing oxygen absorption in lung tissue. Czernuszewicz’s
research is focused on the roles of salivary nitrophorins in storing
and releasing NO and binding histamine by using resonance Raman
spectroscopic techniques as a probe of molecular structure.
- Yuriy Fofanov, assistant professor of computer science and assistant
professor of biology and biochemistry, and Richard Willson, professor
of chemical engineering and professor of biology and biochemistry,
in addition to several other authors, will focus on “Microarray
designs for rapid microbial identification.” This research
is important because infectious diseases cause 26 percent of global
mortality and are the third leading cause of death in the United
States. Microbial identification also is important in food safety
and biodefense. Traditional culturing and growth-testing methods
are being replaced by molecular biology-based methods as genome
sequencing advances. This work presents novel DNA-sequence-based
methods of sensitive, broadly applicable and false-positive resistant
microbial identification.
- George Fox, professor of biology and biochemistry and professor
of chemical engineering, and Willson, with several other authors,
will present research on “Neutral additive effects on metal
affinity adsorption of nucleic acids.” Purification of nucleic
acids (DNA and RNA) is important in diagnosing genetic diseases,
genome sequencing and making DNA-based vaccines for diseases like
Ebola and HIV.
For more information about the ACS meeting and to access a schedule
of presenters and presentations, visit http://acswebcontent.acs.org/nationalmeeting/sd05/index.html.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
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