Iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) are essential metal ions playing central roles in numerous cellular metabolisms, such as enzyme reactions, small molecule binding, immune responses, and many others. Yeast is a good model organism to study metal ion homeostasis monitoring metabolic changes upon environmental and genetic perturbations. We explore the biometals homeostasis of yeast cells using multiple bioanalytical and biophysical tools including NanoSIMS, Mössbauer spectroscopy, ICP-MS, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and immunoassays.

Radionuclides leaked to the environment are problematic due to not only their chemical toxicity but also radioactivity. Many strategies have been developed and applied to remediate the environmental contamination by the manmade radionuclides. Synthetic chemical approach has been successful demonstrating high selectivity and capacity for the sorption of radionuclides such as uranium. Another approach is bioremediation utilizing radionuclides-microbe interactions. Some algae, fungi, bacteria, and plants have the potential to affect solubility, bioavailability, and mobility of radionuclides. We examine and develop novel chemical materials for the remediation of environmental radionuclides, and also investigate the potential of the microbial cells as biological adsorbents for the radionuclides.