Pictured above are chemistry major, Luke Johnson (left), presenting a poster at a research conference in Chicago and biochemistry major, Morgan Underdue (right), working in the lab. Both students were supported this past summer with the generous Carolyn and Lawrence Garber Research Fellowship.
Underdue worked with biochemistry professor Dr. Rizk during the summer to develop biosensors for amino
acids. He used an engineering approach to convert some proteins for bacteria
into powerful detectors for the presence of essential nutrients like glutamic
acid and aspartic acid. These amino acids are used by bacteria as food sources
to grow. The project is part of a collaboration with the University of Notre
Dame to understand how different bacteria selectively consume different food
sources. By using the biosensors developed by Underdue, scientists are able to
monitor the consumption of nutrients by bacteria in real-time, offering insight
into bacterial metabolism and how they can cause disease.
Johnson worked with analytical chemistry professor Dr. Muna during the summer to prepare and test an electrochemical method to detect metabolites of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress, an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants within the body, is common in many diseases like cancer and heart disease. The compound 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) results from nitration mediated by reactive nitrogen species such as the peroxynitrite anion and nitrogen dioxide which result from oxidative stress. 3-NT has been identified as a biomarker for cell damage, inflammation, as well as nitric oxide production. Therefore, its monitoring is important for disease monitoring. An electrochemical biosensor platform was prepared by modifying a gold electrode with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester gold nanoparticles. The NHS ester gold nanoparticles created a monolayer on the electrode surface which was used to covalently immobilize 3-NT antibodies. The modified electrode surface was then used for the detection of 3-NT using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry techniques.
