Author: James Batey | Major: Chemistry & Physics | Semester: Fall 2024
Dr. Dong and Ethan Designing a Single Molecule Localization Instrument
My name is Ethan Batey, I am a senior majoring in chemistry and physics with a minor in mathematics in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. I work in the lab of Dr. Bin Dong, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In Prof. Dong’s lab, I work primarily in instrumentation and methodology development for advanced chemical imaging techniques. During this session of funding, I have been working to develop a novel single-molecule multicolor imaging technique for uses in cellular biology, green catalysis, and more.
The goal of this project was to build a microscope capable of seeing single fluorescent molecules, and further, to differentiate different molecules based on their emission spectra or, more simply, color. In a high school lab, it is easy to look through a microscope and see different colors of different objects. However, our goal is to look at individual molecules about 100,000x smaller than the width of a human hair (1-5 nm). Why? Every action in our bodies, technology, and the environment is dictated by the positions, orientations, and interactions between collections of these individual molecules. By observing the behavior of them, we find answers to larger questions across many disciplines of the physical sciences, life sciences, and engineering. This is exploring the nano world.
This exploration, however, is easier said than done. While many methods have been developed in pursuit of learning more about systems at the single-molecule level, our lab chooses to build upon those which allow us to see molecules. In this project, we accomplished this by constructing a specialized microscope capable of not only locating individual molecules but differentiating them. To accomplish this, we employed what is known as the phasor approach. Briefly, we split incoming signal from into three channels: sine, cosine, and reference. The distinct wavelengths emitted from different fluorophores are absorbed differently in each channel. This intensity difference in each of the channels allows us to differentiate single molecules by their spectra. So far, we have used this technique on cells, allowing us to see up to five different subcellular structures at once, which has not been previously published.
Before selecting this project and finding my mentor, I dug into the literature of faculty members in the department, piecing together what I could understand that connected to my understanding of what was taught in my courses. In my search, I was most interested in Dr. Dong’s work. Chemical imaging was not something I had heard of or learned about in a course before, and it piqued my interest. When I joined the Dong lab, I was fascinated by instruments, and I hoped to one day build some of these myself. In this project, I am working to accomplish that dream.
From being a member in the Dong lab, I have learned many things about the chemistry here, as well as many things about myself. From being in the lab, I have learned everything from how to make figures for publication, prepare samples for optical analysis, and give proper presentations. The experience and knowledge that I have gained by working in the laboratory is invaluable to my career. The most important skill I’ve learned is how to approach and solve problems that do not have an immediate solution. Whenever difficult problems arise, Dr. Dong has always been available to help. Not to mention the indispensable advice that has come from other faculty members such as Dr. Martin Edwards, Dr. Julie Stenken, Dr. Jingyi Chen, Dr. Colin Heyes, and more. These faculty members as well as graduate students Meek Yang, Elric Pott, and many others are an inspiration and great contributors to my success. By doing this research I have met these individuals who are not only my mentors and advisors, but also great friends.
The work I have been part of here has solidified my plans of going to graduate school to pursue a PhD in chemistry. As I am in the process of taking this next step, I will study physical chemistry throughout my graduate school career. I hope to work as a postdoc and then continue in academia. I aspire to one day be a professor that can produce research with great impact and to someday inspire my own students to find a love for research.