Multiparametric Sensor Arrays for High Information Content Separations

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Ryan Bailey and his group at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign aim to perform high information content separations using a silicon photonic microring resonator platform. The focus of this work is to improve analysis of polymers and small molecules, for example, with applications in consumer goods quality control and pharmaceutical drug development. The inherent versatility, quantitative nature, and dynamic range of this analytical platform make it applicable to a wide range of chromatographic detection challenges. In conjunction with the scientific goals of the project, the award will also support the training and development of young scientists, particularly those students from traditionally underrepresented minorities. Furthermore, the group will continue participation in outreach activities within the local community, including an innovative Spanish language science outreach program developed in collaboration with the campus chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Modified sensor arrays for multiparametric separations can be applied to polymer characterization using tunable organic sensor surfaces, to pharmaceutical biologics validation using immune-affinity characterization, and to integrated on-chip separations with electrophoresis for a lab-on-a-chip devices. The current methods for the analysis of polymer and small molecules suffer from slow product validation and often require multiple analytical methods for complete characterization. This project seeks to simplify the validation process by incorporating rapid and chemically informative separations into a single device, representing a new capability for the separations field. Such a device will prove particularly important in the separation and analysis of the next generation of pharmaceuticals, including antibody-based therapeutics. Unlike more conventional small molecule drugs these biological therapeutics demand unique analytical characterization tools.