Conveners
(DPMB) M2-8 Dynamics and Detection: Tools for Measuring the Unseen in Health, Environment, and Materials | Dynamique et détection : outils pour mesurer l'invisible dans les domaines de la santé, de l'environnement et des matériaux (DPMB)
- Ethan MacDonald (Biomedical Engineering, University of Calgary)
Medical isotopes are a vital aspect of nuclear medicine. They are essential for positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), which aid with early detection of cancers, and isotopes are also used in some treatments, such as targeted radionuclide therapy. However, the yield of cyclotron-produced isotopes is lower than its theoretical potential. To...
Vibrational spectroscopy techniques, including Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, have gained significant attention for their ability to provide molecular fingerprints with high specificity. By leveraging plasmonic nanostructures, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) and Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption (SEIRA) further enhance the detection sensitivity, enabling trace-level...
Dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) are environmental pollutants known for their high toxicity and persistence, primarily exerting their effects through interactions with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and subsequent metabolic processing by cytochrome P450 enzymes. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions, we employed first-principle computational methods, including...
Photosynthetic organisms exhibit delayed fluorescence (DF) emissions related to chlorophyll in their photosystem II complex. These emissions are weak, accounting for only 0.03% of the total fluorescence emission, and can only be found in healthy, photosynthetically-active cells in living systems. Emission lifetimes, if detected with high sensitivity, can be used as a non-invasive biomarker of...
The macroscopic behaviours of granular materials are heavily dependent on their microscopic interactions. We explore the dynamics of microscopic frictionless oil droplets with a well controlled cohesive interaction in a 2D tumbling drum. The disordered, bidisperse aggregate of droplets rearrange in the rotating drum quasi-statically. We observe the angle at which the granular aggregate begins...
Azobenzene photoswitches are an indispensable tool in light-responsive materials design. When irradiated by light, azobenzenes undergo a reversible trans-cis photoisomerization about the azo bond (N=N), a robust process used to photocontrol the properties of various materials, including metal organic frameworks, chemical sensors, biomimetic coatings, and liquid crystals. The isomerization...
