Research Areas
Nanoparticle Synthesis
High Throughput sensor screening assays
We have developed several high throughput imaging assays for selecting best performing membrane potential nanosensors. Measurements of membrane staining, directionality, and voltage sensitivity, are performed on a large library of particles using imaging-based assays.
Surface Functionalization
We design quantum dots with amphiphilic monolayer composed of a mixture of hydrophobic and hydrophilic “brushes”. This type of surface coating is expected to drive insertion to cell-membrane in two steps: (a) engaging the membrane via electrostatic and/or polar interactions; and (b) insertion of the particle into the membrane through hydrophobic interaction. We focus on developing assays to characterize the interaction of the particles with cell-membrane and bilayers structures and optimize their properties for QD-based voltage sensing.
Voltage Sensing in Neurons
Our lab is equipped with state-of-the-art electrophysiology and single molecule imaging equipment. We test our nanoparticles on different membrane models - from simple artificial model lipid bilayers to primary cortical neurons