Morgan State University is requesting funds to develop the University's research capacity and to increase the number of minority students granted the PhD in its Bioenvironmental Sciences and Doctor of Engineering programs. The funds will be used to develop the research infrastructure necessary to create a Center for Biological and Chemical Sensors Research (CBCSR). The Center's mission will be to advance the fundamental scientific and technological knowledge needed to develop new biological and chemical sensors, in order to enhance research in the bioenvironmental sciences. The Center will be housed in the new science research annex when it is completed in Fall 2003. Faculty and staff of the Department of Chemistry in the School of Computer Mathematics and Natural Sciences will be responsible for coordination and administration of the Center's activities.
The Center will focus on the development of novel chemical and bio-analytical sensors to study biological and chemical processes as they relate to homeland security, environmental toxicity, improvement and enhancement of environmental monitoring and investigation of biological processes in living systems from tissue to sub-cellular levels. The Center will implement an integrated approach to sensor science and development that will include interdisciplinary research extending from molecular design, synthesis and characterization of fluorophores and luminophores to the development of microfluidic, sol-gel, and impedance based devices. A synergistic research program will be developed based on the following four areas of investigation: 1) Fluorescence resonance energy transfer biological sensors based on new donor-acceptor pairs of fluorophores and luminophores; 2) Incorporation of luminophores and biologically active molecules in aerogels and microfluidic devices; 3) Application of the Riordan group technique to predict adhesion and molecular expression in RNA secondary structure as an aid in the design of biological and chemical sensors ; 4) Development of dual monitoring bio-analytical sensors based on impedance, fluorescence and near-IR spectroscopy.
The three components that will be addressed in this HBCU research capacity building proposal include administration, infrastructure and collaborative research. Funds for this project will be used to facilitate the following specific capacity building activities: upgrade an existing NMR to increase research productivity, upgrade an FT-NIR to perform cross-correlation measurements, purchase a Micro-Thermal Analyzer to characterize variations in sol-gel matrices and laser ablated polymer surfaces, faculty start-up funds, exploratory research on the feasibility of using Riordan matrices to predict RNA secondary structures, travel support for faculty and student to workshops and conferences, support for graduate and undergraduate research students and to hire a consultant, and administrative and technical staff. These activities will significantly enhance Morgan's research productivity and thereby increase the University's ability to effectively compete in a future NSF-CREST
