We develop organic dyes for single molecule fluorescence applications. This new set of projects involves the design and synthesis of organic dyes and assessment of structure-property relationships in bulk environments. We collaborate with the Wustholz lab, which studies the dyes’ fluorescence properties on the single molecule level.  

Conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs or Pdots) are exceptionally bright, photostable fluorophores that absorb and emit in the visible to near-infrared and are stably suspended in water. We study the photogeneration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by CPNs and have developed CPNs that both generate and report on superoxide.