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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Pursuing Excitonic Energy Transfer With Programmable Dna-Based Optical Breadboards, Divita Mathur, Sebastián A. Díaz, Niko Hildebrandt, Ryan D. Pensack, Bernard Yurke, Austin Biaggne, Lan Li, Joseph S. Melinger, Mario G. Ancona, William B. Knowlton, Igor L. Medintz
Pursuing Excitonic Energy Transfer With Programmable Dna-Based Optical Breadboards, Divita Mathur, Sebastián A. Díaz, Niko Hildebrandt, Ryan D. Pensack, Bernard Yurke, Austin Biaggne, Lan Li, Joseph S. Melinger, Mario G. Ancona, William B. Knowlton, Igor L. Medintz
Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations
DNA nanotechnology has now enabled the self-assembly of almost any prescribed 3-dimensional nanoscale structure in large numbers and with high fidelity. These structures are also amenable to site-specific modification with a variety of small molecules ranging from drugs to reporter dyes. Beyond obvious application in biotechnology, such DNA structures are being pursued as programmable nanoscale optical breadboards where multiple different/identical fluorophores can be positioned with sub-nanometer resolution in a manner designed to allow them to engage in multistep excitonic energy-transfer (ET) via Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) or other related processes. Not only is the ability to create such complex …
Exciton Delocalization In A Fully Synthetic Dna-Templated Bacteriochlorin Dimer, Olga A. Mass, Devan R. Watt, Lance K. Patten, Ryan D. Pensack, Jeunghoon Lee, Daniel B. Turner, Bernard Yurke, William B. Knowlton
Exciton Delocalization In A Fully Synthetic Dna-Templated Bacteriochlorin Dimer, Olga A. Mass, Devan R. Watt, Lance K. Patten, Ryan D. Pensack, Jeunghoon Lee, Daniel B. Turner, Bernard Yurke, William B. Knowlton
Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations
A bacteriochlorophyll a (Bchla) dimer is a basic functional unit in the LH1 and LH2 photosynthetic pigment–protein antenna complexes of purple bacteria, where an ordered, close arrangement of Bchla pigments—secured by noncovalent bonding to a protein template—enables exciton delocalization at room temperature. Stable and tunable synthetic analogs of this key photosynthetic subunit could lead to facile engineering of exciton-based systems such as in artificial photosynthesis, organic optoelectronics, and molecular quantum computing. Here, using a combination of synthesis and theory, we demonstrate that exciton delocalization can be achieved in a dimer of a synthetic bacteriochlorin (BC …
High-Sensitivity Electronic Stark Spectrometer Featuring A Laser-Driven Light Source, J. S. Huff, K. M. Duncan, C. J. Van Galen, M. S. Barclay, W. B. Knowlton, B. Yurke, P. H. Davis, D. B. Turner, R. J. Stanley, R. D. Pensack
High-Sensitivity Electronic Stark Spectrometer Featuring A Laser-Driven Light Source, J. S. Huff, K. M. Duncan, C. J. Van Galen, M. S. Barclay, W. B. Knowlton, B. Yurke, P. H. Davis, D. B. Turner, R. J. Stanley, R. D. Pensack
Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations
We report developmental details of a high-sensitivity Stark absorption spectrometer featuring a laser-driven light source. The light source exhibits intensity fluctuations of ∼0.3% over timescales ranging from 1 min to 12 h, minimal drift (≤ 0.1%/h), and very little 1/f noise at frequencies greater than 200 Hz, which are comparable to or better than an arc-driven light source. Additional features of the spectrometer include balanced detection with multiplex sampling, which yielded lower noise in A, and constant wavelength or wavenumber (energy) spectral bandpass modes. We achieve noise amplitudes of ∼7 × 10−4 and ∼6 × 10−6 …
Leveraging Steric Moieties For Kinetic Control Of Dna Strand Displacement Reactions, Drew Lysne, Tim Hachigian, Chris Thachuk, Jeunghoon Lee, Elton Graugnard
Leveraging Steric Moieties For Kinetic Control Of Dna Strand Displacement Reactions, Drew Lysne, Tim Hachigian, Chris Thachuk, Jeunghoon Lee, Elton Graugnard
Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations
DNA strand displacement networks are a critical part of dynamic DNA nanotechnology and are proven primitives for implementing chemical reaction networks. Precise kinetic control of these networks is important for their use in a range of applications. Among the better understood and widely leveraged kinetic properties of these networks are toehold sequence, length, composition, and location. While steric hindrance has been recognized as an important factor in such systems, a clear understanding of its impact and role is lacking. Here, a systematic investigation of steric hindrance within a DNA toehold-mediated strand displacement network was performed through tracking kinetic reactions of …
Molecular Dynamic Studies Of Dye–Dye And Dye–Dna Interactions Governing Excitonic Coupling In Squaraine Aggregates Templated By Dna Holliday Junctions, German Barcenas, Austin Biaggne, Olga A. Mass, William B. Knowlton, Bernard Yurke, Lan Li
Molecular Dynamic Studies Of Dye–Dye And Dye–Dna Interactions Governing Excitonic Coupling In Squaraine Aggregates Templated By Dna Holliday Junctions, German Barcenas, Austin Biaggne, Olga A. Mass, William B. Knowlton, Bernard Yurke, Lan Li
Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations
Dye molecules, arranged in an aggregate, can display excitonic delocalization. The use of DNA scaffolding to control aggregate configurations and delocalization is of research interest. Here, we applied Molecular Dynamics (MD) to gain an insight on how dye–DNA interactions affect excitonic coupling between two squaraine (SQ) dyes covalently attached to a DNA Holliday junction (HJ). We studied two types of dimer configurations, i.e., adjacent and transverse, which differed in points of dye covalent attachments to DNA. Three structurally different SQ dyes with similar hydrophobicity were chosen to investigate the sensitivity of excitonic coupling to dye placement. Each dimer configuration was …
Probing Dna Structural Heterogeneity By Identifying Conformational Subensembles Of A Bicovalently Bound Cyanine Dye, Matthew S. Barclay, Azhad U. Chowdhury, Austin Biaggne, Jonathan S. Huff, Nicholas D. Wright, Paul H. Davis, Lan Li, William B. Knowlton, Bernard Yurke, Ryan D. Pensack, Daniel B. Turner
Probing Dna Structural Heterogeneity By Identifying Conformational Subensembles Of A Bicovalently Bound Cyanine Dye, Matthew S. Barclay, Azhad U. Chowdhury, Austin Biaggne, Jonathan S. Huff, Nicholas D. Wright, Paul H. Davis, Lan Li, William B. Knowlton, Bernard Yurke, Ryan D. Pensack, Daniel B. Turner
Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations
DNA is a re-configurable, biological information-storage unit, and much remains to be learned about its heterogeneous structural dynamics. For example, while it is known that molecular dyes templated onto DNA exhibit increased photostability, the mechanism by which the structural dynamics of DNA affect the dye photophysics remains unknown. Here, we use femtosecond, two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy measurements of a cyanine dye, Cy5, to probe local conformations in samples of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA–Cy5), double-stranded DNA (dsDNA–Cy5), and Holliday junction DNA (HJ–DNA–Cy5). A line shape analysis of the 2D spectra reveals a strong excitation–emission correlation present in only the dsDNA–Cy5 complex, which is …
In Situ And Real-Time Mold Flux Analysis Using A High-Temperature Fiber-Optic Raman Sensor For Steel Manufacturing Applications, Bohong Zhang, Hanok Tekle, Ronald J. O'Malley, Todd Sander, Jeffrey D. Smith, Rex E. Gerald, Jie Huang
In Situ And Real-Time Mold Flux Analysis Using A High-Temperature Fiber-Optic Raman Sensor For Steel Manufacturing Applications, Bohong Zhang, Hanok Tekle, Ronald J. O'Malley, Todd Sander, Jeffrey D. Smith, Rex E. Gerald, Jie Huang
Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works
Continuous Casting in Steel Production Uses Specially Developed Oxyfluoride Glasses (Mold Fluxes) to Lubricate a Mold and Control the Solidification of the Steel in the Mold. the Composition of the Flux Impacts Properties, Including Basicity, Viscosity, and Crystallization Rate, All of Which Affect the Stability of the Casting Process and the Quality of the Solidified Steel. However, Mold Fluxes Interact with Steel during the Casting Process, Resulting in Flux Chemistry Changes that Must Be Considered in the Flux Design. Currently, the Chemical Composition of Mold Flux Must Be Determined by Extracting Flux Samples from the Mold during Casting and Then …
Beeswax Wraps As An Alternative To Single-Use Plastics, Sarah Skiver
Beeswax Wraps As An Alternative To Single-Use Plastics, Sarah Skiver
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
The project goal was to compare the food storage efficacy of sustainable beeswax wraps verses the single-use plastic methods of resealable plastic sandwich bags and plastic cling wrap. The goal was also to test the reusability of the beeswax wraps, as it is a key advantage of beeswax wraps that is advertised. The project purpose was to explore sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to single use plastics, which are harmful to the environment in both their production and their disposal. Food spoilage was compared in beeswax wrap, plastic sandwich bags, and plastic cling wrap, and spoilage was also observed in a …