A trio of chemistry and physics professors at West Virginia University are developing a cost-efficient device that would improve biochip technology— processes that allow for rapid, on-the-spot clinical analysis of biomolecules. Such devices can improve the detection and treatment of disease in the hospital, or alert security and military officials to the presence of chemical or bioweapon hazards.

The National Science Foundation has awarded Lloyd Carroll, assistant professor in the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, a three-year award of $300,000 to improve microchip separation and concentration systems created with Department of Physics professor Boyd Edwards and fellow chemistry professor Aaron Timperman.

The device is able to separate and identify contaminants and biomolecules with a higher sensitivity and lower power requirements than current technology. It uses the difference in charge and sizes of molecules and DNA to separate them, allowing accurate analysis on the components of the mixture.

The use of similar systems, often called “lab-on-a-chip,” transfers the complex analytical technology found in hospitals to a mobile, low-powered tool. Lab-on-a-chip systems are often just as sensitive and much less expensive than the full-sized equipment, allowing for use in the field in battlefield, security, or environmental applications.

Many aspects of security and biomedical analysis today depend on separating proteins and DNA that are important from those that are not for the diagnosis of disease, identification of infectious or toxic agents, or validation of a person’s identity.

The grant, Carroll said, “allows us to give students experience and training in building devices while working on theoretical and fundamental research.” A major focus of the research, he said, is to provide a fundamental understanding of the separation process when applied to many different kinds of molecules.

Carroll received his bachelor’s degree in secondary science education (Biology) and his Ph.D. in chemistry from North Carolina State University. He completed a four-year postdoctoral fellowship in physics at UNC Chapel Hill.

Edwards received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Utah State University and his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University.

Timperman earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Louis University and his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Illinois. He completed two postdoctoral fellowships — one in marine chemistry from the University of Southern Florida and the other in molecular biotechnology at the University of Washington.

For more information, contact Lloyd Carroll at (304) 293-3435, ext. 6443 or Lloyd.Carroll@mail.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

cs/6/17/11

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