Research (研究方向)

My research interests include two parts: (1) Developing optical microscopes based on oblique-incidence reflectivity difference (OI-RD) technique to detect biomolecular interactions in microarray format; (2) Designing microfluidic chips for biomedical applications such as cell migration in controllable micro-environments.

Microarray Platform

A microarray is composed of sub-millimeter sized spots of biomolecules arranged in a regular pattern on a solid substrate. These biomolecules can be DNAs, RNAs, proteins, peptides, small molecules, carbohydrates, and even cells or tissues. They are spotted, imprinted, or directly synthesized on solid supports such as glass, silicon wafer, and other functionalized substrates. Microarrays of biological molecules are useful tools for discovery and functionality characterization in fundamental and applied research of genomics, proteomics, glycomics and cytomics. They provide a high-throughput platform that enables parallel studies of hundreds to tens of thousands of distinct biomolecular reactions.

Label-Free Biosensor

Characterization of binding reactions between surface-immobilized targets and solutions-phase analytes routinely involves fluorescence-based detection methods. However, labeling analytes inevitably changes innate properties of the molecules and in turn modifies analyte-target interactions in an often uncharacterized way. As a result, label-free microarray detection is desirable. Optical microscopes based on oblique-incidence reflectivity difference (OI-RD) technique are developed and used to detect biomolecular interactions in microarray format. OI-RD, a most sensitive form of optical elliposometry, measures the difference in reflectivity change (both magnitude and phase) between p- and s-polarized components of an optical beam. Such a difference is related to the thickness and dielectric constant of surface-immobilized biomolecules.

Microfluidic Chips

Microfluidic systems provide powerful tools for controlling the in vitro cellular microenvironment which best mimicking the in vivo biological matrix. Such devices have been applied to both temporal and spatial manipulation of cell growth and stimuli by micro-scaled channels, patterns, and fluidic systems, creating new opportunities for biologists to study cellular behaviors under different physical and chemical conditions. There are various concepts and strategies in designing microfluidic devices for culturing, manipulating, and stimulating cells under well-established microenvironments.