Mathies Research Lab
From molecular analysis towards detection of new forms of life in the solar system and beyond...
We are always looking for the next challenge even if its 1,271,542,694.4 km far away...
Visit our new Space exploration website on: eoa.ssl.berkeley.edu to find more information on our quest of:
SEARCHING FOR THE MOLECULAR BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE. THE ENCELADUS ORGANIC ANALYZER (EOA) IS A NOVEL MICROCHIP-BASED TECHNOLOGY ENABLING ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC MOLECULES
WE ARE NOW WORKING ON A NASA AWARD TO DEVELOP AN INSTRUMENT CALLED MOAB (Microfabricated Organic Analyzer for Biosignatures) FOR POTENTIAL DEPLOYENT ON A EUROPA LANDER MISSION.
GREAT NEWS! WE JUST GOT A NEW NASA REDDI GRANT THAT WILL FUND US TO FLIGHT TEST OUR MICROFLUIDIC ANALYZER ON A ZEROG PARABOLIC FLIGHT TO DEMONSTRATE FUNCTION IN DIFFERENT GRAVITY ENVIRONMENTS
The Mathies Group biophysical research is focused on the use of resonance Raman and time resolved optical spectroscopy to elucidate the structure and reaction dynamics of energy and information transducing photoactive proteins and chemical systems. Extensive work on the photochemistry of the visual pigment rhodopsin has established the structure of the primary photoproduct using time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy, demonstrated that the primary cis-to-trans photoisomerization in vision is complete in only 200 fs, and analyzed the nonstationary state or wavepacket evolution that defines the excited state isomerization mechanism. His recent development of femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy provides a revolutionary new way to study the structural dynamics of photochemical and photophysical processes with complete high resolution Raman vibrational spectra and <50 fs time resolution.
Mathies Group work in the area of biotechnology and the Human Genome Project led to the development of new high-speed, high-throughput DNA analysis technologies such as capillary array electrophoresis and energy transfer (ET) fluorescent dye labels for DNA sequencing and analysis. In particular, the development of ET fluorescent labels was a critical contribution to the early completion of the Human Genome sequence. He also pioneered the development of microfabricated capillary electrophoresis devices and microfabricated integrated sample preparation and detection methods for lab-on-a-chip analysis systems that are being applied to DNA sequencing, diagnostics, forensics, pathogen detection and space exploration.