Active projects

Capillary Electrophoresis Electrochemical Detection Adsorption of Proteins

Interaction of Enzymes with Carbon Nanotubes

Proteins tend to adsorb at surfaces. However, the conformation and biological activity of the adsorbed material depends on the surface, the protein, and the adsorption conditions. We are very interested in understanding how the nanoenvironment provided by certain materials affects the structure and activity of enzymes such as D-amino acid oxidase, glucose oxidase, and catalase.

Real-Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

With the support of a grant from the NIH, we recently purchased a Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometer (Woollam). In order to follow the adsorption process in real-time we have modified the liquid cell and developed a procedure to characterize the flow parameters. Read more...

We have also developed a very simple strategy to improve the sensitivity of elipsometric measurements. Read more...

Biocompatibility of Surfaces in Microfluidic Devices

The objective of the proposed research endeavor is to establish the conditions that minimize conformational changes in proteins when interacting with the surface of nanostructured materials (grain size less than 100 nm). This project is the result of a collaboration with Dr. Bizios (BME-UTSA). Read more...