Welcome to the Dunn Group Research Page
Our group develops chemical analysis capabilities using optical approaches.
High Speed Capillary Electrophoresis (HSCE)
Short length fused silica capillaries are used to separate and detect species in seconds.
Bioanalysis with HSCE
HSCE combined with simultaneous fluorescence and refractive index detection is being developed for homogenous immunoassays and metabolic screening.
Universal Detection Using Back-scatter Interferometry (BSI)
BSI is being developed for universal detection in separation based chemical analysis. We are developing approaches that extend detection limits and leverage inexpensive optics for field deployable systems.
Scanning Resonator Microscopy (SRM)
We are exploring new ways of combining whispering gallery mode resonators with scanning probe microscopy to develop new forms of high resolution microscopy.
Label-free Sensing Using Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) Resonators
High-Q resonators can detect binding at the resonator surface though shifts in the WGM resonance. A novel fluorescence imaging approach is developed to visualize WGM resonances and track their changes as analyses bind at the surface.
Single Molecule Fluorescence Imaging
Single molecule fluorescence imaging is used to probe molecular level structure in model membranes.
Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy (NSOM)
Custom fabricated fiber optic probes are used to funnel light down to the nanometric dimension for high resolution fluorescence measurements of surfaces.
Nuclear Pore Complexes (NPC)
Nuclear pores are the only direct pore connecting the nucleoplasmic and cytoplasmic spaces in the cell. They span both membranes forming the nuclear envelope and have both active and passive transport mechanisms.