Professor Frank Gomez of California State University Los Angeles is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to develop both microfluidic and non-microfluidic devices using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and valve and pump methodologies to study receptor-ligand interactions. Specifically, the work focuses on two basic projects: microfluidic devices coupled to affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) and microreactor techniques in the analysis of glycopeptide antibiotics and the enzymes glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and diaphorase. Questions to be addressed include: how does this group of antibiotics interact with various peptides? The project goal is automation of studies, with pump and valve machinery in a chip format replacing pipetting.
CE is recognized as a powerful analytical separation technique that offers speed, quantitation, reproducibility, and automation for analysis of complex mixtures. Efforts at automation and reducing sample sizes will allow for efficient separations of complex mixtures such as biological fluids and environmental samples. The PI leads a group of students from diverse populations in his research group, giving them experiences in bioanalysis, biochemistry and instrument development.
