Professor Daniel Talham of the University of Florida is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program to characterize and to optimize probe immobilization at zirconium phosphonate surfaces for bioarray applications. The idea is to develop sensors for DNA sequences and eventually proteins. Issues about surface coverage, probe density, specific vs non-specific binding, target capture and hybridication efficiency, kinetics for different probe conditions, immobilization of DNA duplexes, and immobilization of proteins are being examined. Approaches include X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance, atomic force microscopy and fluorescence imaging. The PI collaborates with the Universite de Nantes in France and a French company.
The results of this project will increase our understanding of bioarray technologies, which are useful tools for medical diagnostic and detection applications.
