Author: Madeline Wilburn | Major: Chemistry – Biochemistry | Semester: Fall 2024
Madeline Wilburn in the research lab, working on her honors thesis project for the electrochemical detection of fluorophores. She is working to develop her PEDOT-modified gold electrode surface for fluorophore detection.
blurb: Madeline (Maddie) Wilburn is an honors student from Fayetteville, Arkansas, studying chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry. In the spring of 2024, she was awarded the Honors College Research Grant and continued her chemistry research toward her honors thesis.
Hello Honors College! My name is Madeline Wilburn. I have just completed my first semester of senior year and am majoring in chemistry with a concentration in biochemistry in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. I am a member of Dr. Ingrid Fritsch’s research group in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. I have spent this past semester continuing my research toward my honors thesis. In my lab I am working toward the development of an electrochemical detection method for fluorophores.
In the spring of 2023, I had just transferred to the University of Arkansas and had the pleasure of taking Analytical Chemistry with Dr. Ingrid Fritsch. At my previous institution I worked in a research laboratory, and I knew that I wanted to find a research group here to continue my passion for science and to belong to a small community of like-minded people as I made the transition onto Arkansas’ campus. I had looked into Dr. Fritsch’s research throughout the semester and felt that it would be a great fit for me. Thanks to her guidance and mentorship as well as the ongoing help from her graduate students that is exactly what I discovered.
My project is to develop an electrochemical detection method for small molecules that fluoresce and are used to tag biological compounds. These fluorophores can be detected by electrochemical techniques because of their redox properties. Electrochemical analysis has several advantages including its portable, expeditious, and cost-effective instrumentation, which allows for a handheld analysis method for the detection of fluorophore-tagged compounds. Furthermore, the electrochemical detection of tagged biological compounds has important applications in environmental sample measurements, drug studies, and clinical diagnostics. My work is centered around using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-modified gold electrodes for the fluorophore detection. This semester I worked with and electrochemically detected fluorophores rhodamine B and fluorescein using cyclic voltammetry. My future work will be centered around further rhodamine B and fluorescein analysis using different PEDOT film thickness on the gold electrodes to establish optimal electrochemical detection conditions. I will also begin preparing for my thesis defense and for the American Chemical Society National Meeting over spring break that I will have the honor of presenting a poster at.
As I go into the last semester of college before graduation, I am excited to wrap up my research project, successfully defend my thesis, and attend a national research conference. After graduation I will be in the Ozark Dermatology gap year program for pre-medical students here in Northwest Arkansas. I look forward to the possibility of being able to join a physician at Ozark Dermatology in his/her research and continue my passion. After a year at Ozark Dermatology, I plan to attend medical school. I know that being a part of undergraduate research on the University of Arkansas campus has prepared me immensely for my future endeavors and I could not be prouder to have been a part of the research community!