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Associate Professor, Henry Eyring Scholar
Department of Chemistry, Univeristy of Utah
Contact Information
Curriculum Vitae

B.S. in Chemistry, University of Utah, 2004, Salt Lake City, UT
e-mail: tcanglin@chem.utah.edu
My research interests include the kinetics and thermodynamics of phospholipid flip-flop in planar supported lipid bilayers (PSLB’s) by sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy (SFVS).  Our laboratory utilizes the surface specificity and coherent nature of SFVS to probe the time dependent asymmetry of supported bilayers without the use of chemically modified probes.  My work in this field has included further characterization of the thermodynamic barrier to flip-flop through temperature and lateral pressure dependent kinetic studies and subsequent analysis according to transition state theory.  This includes study of the effects of integral membrane peptides on the intrinsic rate of flip-flop and study of flip-flop in multi-component lipid mixtures.  A secondary focus in my work relates to the study of monolayer film transfer fidelity from the air-water interface to planar supports by the Langmuir-Blodgett and Langmuir-Schaeffer deposition techniques using fluorescence microscopy.

B.S. in Chemistry, Central Connecticut State University, 2007, New Britain, CT
e-mail: krystal.brown@utah.edu
My research is focused on the study of lipid flip-flop, the movement of lipids across a biological membrane, in planar-supported lipid bilayers (PSLB). Understanding lipid flip-flop is integral to the comprehension of lipid membrane cellular function and regulation. Previous studies on lipid flip-flop have used fluorescently or spin-labeled lipids; however, the use of chemically altered lipids affects the kinetics and thermodynamics of the system. To avoid the use of modified lipids, we use sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy (SFVS) to examine the bilayers.  I am interested in studying the kinetics and thermodynamics of unassisted and protein-mediated lipid flip-flop. The goal of this work is to create a base of knowledge about the behavior of lipids in simple PSLBs and eventually work up to more complicated systems that better model cellular membranes.

B.S. in Chemistry, University of Utah, 2006, Salt Lake City, UT
e-mail: m.cooper@chem.utah.edu
My research involves the study of membrane lipid flip-flop through the use of sum frequency vibrational spectroscopy.  I am also studying possible mechanisms by which cells maintain lipid asymmetry between each leaflet of the bilayer.  This is also accomplished with sum frequency vibrational spectroscopy.  These studies use planar supported lipid bilayers prepared by the Lanmuir-Blodgett / Langmuir-Schaeffer method.  In related studies, I am also investigating the efficacy of the LB/LS method in preparing bilayers of complex lipid mixtures.

MEngSc in Chemical and Bio-molecular Engineering, University of Melbourne, Australia, 2004
e-mail: tnguyen@chem.utah.edu
My research focuses on using UV-Vis Sum-Frequency Generation (SFG), a nonlinear optical spectroscopic technique, to detect protein adsorption at solid/liquid interfaces. The main advantage of UV-Vis SFG over fluorescence, which has been used conventionally, is that protein association can be detected without using any external labels. My research also involves studying the interaction of small molecule drugs with biological membrane using UV-Vis SFG and SFVS.

B. S. in Chemistry, Westminster College, 2002, Salt Lake City, UT
e-mail: rollins@chem.utah.edu
My research involves the synthesis and characterization of novel water-immiscible room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs).  RTILs have very unique properties such as, negligible vapor pressures, ionic conductivities, high thermal and electrochemical stabilities, large temperature ranges in which they remain liquid, and their ability to be “tuned” for a specific task by changing the cation/anion pair.  These physical properties make them attractive in many areas of chemistry such as organic synthesis, electrochemistry, and separations.  I am particularly interested in how these RTILs are structured and oriented at liquid and solid interfaces to gain a better understanding of how they behave on a molecular level.  My research also involves using these water-immiscible RTILs as electrolytes in different electrochemical systems.

B.S. in Chemistry, DeSales University, 2005, Center Valley, PA
e-mail: kasmith@chem.utah.edu
 My research involves the fabrication of micropatterned lipid bilayer arrays for the high-throughput detection of proteins and small molecules. A continuous flow microspotter, developed by Prof. Bruce Gale from the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Utah, is currently being used for generating lipid bilayer arrays. The microspotter allows for the production of 48 multi-component bilayers on a single substrate, having the potential for multi-analyte assays. I am also interested in developing a nonlinear microscopy technique for the label-free detection of many different types of protein-ligand and drug-membrane interactions using lipid bilayer arrays.

Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah 

Post Doctoral Associate with Prof. Henry White (Univeristy fo Utah)