Stephen Paige - Skills and Expertise

Hydrodynamic Size Measurement

Microscopy Techniques

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis

Alternative method for measuring hydrodynamic size on a per-particle basis.

Dynamic Light Scattering

Used often for hydrodynamic size and zeta potential measurements.

Transmission Electron Microscopy

Electron microscope method of visualizing nanoparticle size and morphology.

Scanning Electron Microscopy

Surface morphology method of visualizing nanoparticles.

Spectroscopic/Spectrometric Techniques

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Analytical technique used to identify materials by measuring the absorption of infrared radiation.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometry

Like MRI but for chemicals! Used to identify chemical compounds.

UV-Vis Spectroscopy

Spectroscopic method of analyzing the interaction of nanoparticles with different wavelengths of light.

ICP-OES

Analytical method of determining chemical composition of chemical compounds and analyzing concentrations.

Other instrumental analysis

X-Ray Diffraction Crystallography

Technique used to determine the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal by measuring the angles and intensity of x-rays as they pass through a crystalline material.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Powerful imaging modality utilizing the nuclear magnetic resonance affect. Iron oxide nanoparticles generate contrast for specific visualization of biomarkers.

Chemical Reactions and Techniques

Rotary Evaporation

Chemical method of rapidly removing organic solvents from a solution.

Steglich Esterification

A method used to synthesize esters from carboxylic acids and alcohols using a coupling reagent and a catalyst. In this context, the carboxylic acid used is 3,4,5-tribenzyloxybenzoic acid (TBBA), which is esterified with the hydroxyl groups present on the dextran backbone.

Palladium Deprotection

The benzyl groups protecting the phenolic hydroxyl groups are removed. This is accomplished via a palladium-catalyzed hydrogenation reaction. Specifically, the benzyl-protected ester product is treated with palladium black under a hydrogen atmosphere, effectively removing the benzyl groups and exposing the free phenolic hydroxyl groups.