Yanfang published her recent work in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry with the title of 'Metabolomics and Molecular Networking Approach for Exploring the Effect of Light Intensity and Quality on the Chemical Profile and Accumulation of Glucosinolates in Broccoli Microgreen,' and our collaborator, Dr. Jianghao Sun at MAFCL, USDA, led this research project. Please check the details here. 

​Dr. Zhang delivered a seminar talk at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC) of the USDA in Beltsville, MD, on February 20, 2025. His presentation, titled "Botanical Data Central: Advancing Online Tools and Databases for Botanical Phytochemicals," focused on the recent development of an online platform for botanical data processing and a secondary metabolite database.

Our recent work entitled 'Quantitative analysis of cannabinoids by zone heat-assisted DART-MS with in-situ flash derivatization,' was published in Forensic Chemistry. For details, please check the click here. 

Our recent work entitled 'Recovery and detection of ignitable liquid residues from the substrates by solid phase microextraction – direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry,' was published in Forensic Chemistry. For details, please check the click here. 

Kevin Cavey gave an oral presentation at the ACS GSSPC Spring 2024 symposium on nanoparticle heterogeneity: realizing strengths by embracing differences. His presentation was titled ‘Every ligand counts: Quantitative analysis of nanoparticle surface ligands via TD-DART-MS.' We thanked the ACS Spring 2024 Graduate Student Symposium Planning Committee (GSSPC) for the travel support and DOE was acknowledged for sponsoring this research. 

Our group gave a poster presentation at the annual NIJ Forensic Science R&D Symposium in Denver, CO during the AAFS conference. The title of the presentation is "Recovery and analysis of both volatile and less-volatile compounds from ignitable liquid residues on substrates/debris by SPME‐DART‐MS". 

Our recent work on the quantitation of anthocyanins has been accepted for publication in a leading journal in the field of food science, Food Chemistry. We collaborated with the Methods and Application of Food Composition Laboratory at USDA, Dr. Xin Yang MTSU), and Dr. Ning Zhang (Fisk U) to study the UV–Vis molar absorptivity variation and quantitation of anthocyanins using molar relative response factor. 

Congratulations to Gracie as one of the first cohort of the AMPLIFY Scholars for the 2023-2024 academic year! This cohort comprises undergraduate students from MTSU's physics, chemistry, geoscience, math, computer science, and data science programs. The AMPLIFY Scholarship Program, which focuses on research and mentoring, aims to nurture the next generation of US researchers and scholars in the fields of Materials, Quantum, Computation, and AI. It seeks to broaden participation and promote diversity in STEM. 

Our group gave a poster presentation at the AOAC Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, and won the first-time poster presenter award (link). Dr. Zhang also joined the Editorial Board of The Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL. 

The new UHPLC-QTOF-MS was just installed. An NSF MRI grant funds this instrument and will significantly enhance our analytical capability. A new DART Jump Shot was also acquired to couple with the QTOF-MS. 

Our group gave a poster presentation at the annual AAFS conference in Orlando, FL. The title is "The Unique Capability of Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) for the Detection of Less Volatile Components in Ignitable Liquids". The link to this event can be found here.

Our manuscript entitled 'GC/MS and DART-MS as complementary methods for investigating the effects of weathering on chemical profiles of ignitable liquids: A case study for paint thinner' is online today in Forensic Chemistry. The project collaborates with Dr. Ngee Sing Chong at MTSU. The link can be found here.

Kevin and Shruthi gave a presentation about the DART-MS and its applications for the Science Club at Green Hill High School, Mt. Juliet, TN. The audiences are juniors and seniors who have taken Honors Biology/Chemistry and at least one of the AP science classes, and they were excited to see the cool DART-MS stories. Hopefully these future scientists and engineers are inspired to be leaders in the fields and develop more advanced tools to make the world a better place. 

Our manuscript entitled 'Evaluation of Mass Spectrometric Methods for Screening Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Particulate Phase of Wildfire/Biomass Smoke' is online today in Fire Technology. The project is collaborated with Dr. Ngee Sing Chong at MTSU and Dr. Zhuangjie Li at Cal State Fullerton and is funded by FEMA. The link can be found here.

Our recent manuscript entitled 'Mass Spectrometry-Based Nontargeted and Targeted Analytical Approaches in Fingerprinting and Metabolomics of Food and Agricultural Research' was published on J. Agric. Food Chem. as a cover article. This work collaborated with Dr. Jianghao Sun at USDA and was sponsored by the USDA and NIH-ODS. The link for this paper is available here. 

Kevin gave an oral presentation during the session of "Instrumentation: Ambient Ionization and Applications" on Wed June 8th, at the ASMS Conference in Minneapolis, MN. The title of his talk was "Chemistry of Colloidal Nanocrystal Surfaces: Elucidating Bound/Unbound Ligands via Thermal Desorption – Direct Analysis in Real-Time – Mass Spectrometry", and Kevin introduced a new and important field, surface chemistry of quantum dots, that the mass spectromists could make significant contributions to in the future. 

Our recent manuscript entitled 'Development of a Metabolite Ratio Rule-Based Method for Automated Metabolite Profiling and Species Differentiation of Four Major Cinnamon Species' was published on J. Agric. Food Chem. This work collaborated with Dr. Pei Chen at USDA and was sponsored by the USDA and NIH-ODS. The link for this paper is available here. 

J.E. Wiser Graduate Scholarship in the Chemistry Department at MTSU is awarded to an outstanding Chemistry Graduate student based on academic achievement, teaching ability, and professionalism. Congrats!

Kevin presented our DART-MS method for the analysis of ligands on quantum dots at the ACS Spring 2022 meeting. 

"An Analysis of Polymer Composition and Dye of Textile Fibers by Direct Analysis in Real Time-Mass Spectrometry (DART®-MS) and Raman Microscopy" by Miquellie

"A Comparison of Weathering Profiles of Ignitable Liquids (ILs) by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) and Direct Analysis in Real-Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS)" by Shruthi

Our recent manuscript entitled 'Rapid and Sensitive Identification and Discrimination of Bound/unbound Ligands on Colloidal Nanocrystals via Direct Analysis in Real-time Mass Spectrometry' was published on Langmuir. This work collaborated with Dr. Van Patten and was sponsored by the Department of Energy. The link for this paper is available here. 

It was great to join the in-person ASMS conference again. Ginny gave a 20-min talk at the Environmental: Innovative Approaches and Instrumentation session on Mon. Shruthi gave an in-person "hot topics" lightning talk in the Ambient Sampling and Ionization workshop Wed night and presented a poster in the Forensics session on Thu. Well done!

Roderick gave an oral presentation in the 'Chemometrics for Food and Drug Analysis’ Section at SciX 2021, Providence, RI. This conference is one of the first in-person analytical chemistry conferences in over a year. The title of his talk is 'Metabolite Ratio Rule-Based Method for Automated Metabolite Profiling and Species Differentiation of Cinnamon Samples'. Dr. Zhang is the organizer and presider of the session.  More about SciX is here.

The microbalance is a key equipment to support several projects in our group. We are grateful for the support from MOBI program.

Our quantum dot research is funded by U.S. Department of Energy. On this grant, Zhang is a co-PI with Profs. Greg Van Patten (PI at MTSU) and Warren Beck (PI at Michigan State University). 

Jared Frazier is the 7th MTSU student selected for the Goldwater Scholarship since 2007. More information can be found at GoldWater Scholar Press Release. The full story is featured on MTSU NEWS.

Congratulations to Isabella for her work entitled 'Detection and Classification of Ignitable Liquid Residues in the Presence of Matrix Interferences by Using Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry' accepted by Journal of Forensic Sciences. Great work!

This work is collaborated with Dr. Frank C. Bailey, a professor in department of biology and director of forensic science program at MTSU.