With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Professor Patrick M. Hare and his colleagues Stefan Paula and Keith A. Walters will upgrade a fluorometer to a picosecond time-resolved, variable excitation wavelength instrument that will enhance both the research and education programs at Northern Kentucky University. Three areas of research will be benefit from the new capability: 1) Organometallic Supramolecular Chemistry of Fullerene-Transition Metal Systems; 2) Spectroscopic Characterization of Novel Inhibitors of the Sarco/endoplasmic Reticulum ATPase (SERCA); and 3) Photophysics of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds.
Emission lifetime fluorescence spectrophotometers measure the time decay of the light emitted from a sample that has been promoted to an excited state by a light source. This provides insight on the mechanisms of energy transfer and loss in chemical and biological systems. It can reveal information on how substrates interact with enzymes or new materials can be used in solar cells, among other possible applications. The instrument will be used in research and laboratory classes by undergraduate students.
