The mission of our JSU-UCSB PREM program is to foster collaborative, interdisciplinary research and education in polymer self-assembly and biological nano-structured materials that will address the future needs of society and will increase the participation of minorities in material science research and education. JSU-PREM and its partnership with the UCSB MRSEC provides resources necessary to train students and establish faculty collaborations in three thrust areas: (1) Engineered Self-Assembly of Conjugated Polymer and Oligomer Based Optical and Electronic Systems; (2) Theoretical Studies on the Conductance and Electro-optic Properties of Optoelectronic Materials; (3) Nanostructured Materials as Interfaces to Biology.  The PREM allowed JSU to become a leader in materials research and further cement the strong ties between JSU and UCSB. The PREM significantly impacted the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) at UCSB and the greater UCSB campus.

The achievements during this funding period include a range of significant discoveries, including, 1) demonstrated for the first time that nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of gold nanoparticles can be used for screening and quantifying hepatitis C virus RNA without any modification, with excellent detection limit (80 pico-molar) and selectivity (single base pair mismatch), 2) developed NSET ruler for probing the transition states of an RNAunfolding reaction, 3) design portable NSET sensor for monitoring Hg(II) ions with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity over alkali, alkaline earth metal ions., 4) demonstrated gold nanorods based assay for screening HIV-1 viral sequence DNA without any modification, 5) developed convenient and highly modular method for the preparation of multimodal composite nanoparticles. Collaboration with UCSB has been immensely helpful for the successful continuation of this project. We have used the world-class facilities at the MRL, UCSB, including nanoparticle characterization by TEM. UCSB also provided the infrastructure and support for PREM students to visit and work for extended periods at UCSB.

During funding period lies we have developed an infrastructure for JSU, a historically Black University, to conduct cutting-edge materials research and education programs that involve undergraduate and graduate African American students and women.  Faculty members at JSU have been able to participate in the materials related research and work with UCSB colleagues who are more advanced in the materials research area. Success of this PREM is due to the establishment of a robust infrastructure for the education, training and mentoring of minority students and postdoctoral fellows through formal course, PREM summer school, PREM lecture series, PREM conference and laboratory rotations between JSU and UCSB. In addition, equipments for materials research have been purchased and research personnel were hired and trained for materials research, critical for establishment of a dynamic infrastructure.  Ultimately, numerous minority students and women have been involved in the materials research at both JSU and UCSB.

Through innovative degree programs and lecture courses, our PREM allows the development of JSU as a center of excellence in advanced nanomaterial and polymer material research while significantly impacting the diversity, educational, and outreach activities at UCSB. Ultimately, numerous minority students and women have been involved in the materials research at both JSU and UCSB. Through innovative degree programs and lecture courses, our PREM allows the development of JSU as a center of excellence in advanced nanomaterial and polymer material research while significantly impacting the diversity, educational, and outreach activities at UCSB. Participating in the PREM summer research program also benefits K-12 teachers and students from local schools in Mississippi. JSU-UCSB PREM summer school participants from Jackson, MS local high school published their research finding at IEEE Sensor Journal. PREM Participants presented Nanoscience exhibition at the Capital Science Museum at Jackson, MS. During the exhibition, several demos were used to demonstrate and engage the audience on the beauty of Nanoscience. Over 500 Participants gathered at the Museum for Nano Day. We presented a series of hands-on nano exhibits in the Museum lobby. Finally the PREM program is playing an important role in the larger framework of the JSU’s research enterprise by promoting inter-departmental collaborations among faculty members.

Selected Publications

Use of Gold Nanoparticles in a Simple Colorimetric and Ultrasensitive Dynamic Light Scattering Assay: Selective Detection of Arsenic in Groundwater, Jhansi Rani Kalluri, Tahir Arbneshi, Dr., Sadia Afrin Khan, Adria Neely, Perry Candice, Birsen Varisli, Marla Washington, Shardae McAfee, Britinia Robinson, Santanu Banerjee, Anant Kumar Singh, Dulal Senapati, Paresh Chandra Ray, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2009, 48, 51, 9668-9671

Size and Distance Dependent NSET Ruler for Selective Sensing of Hepatitis C virus RNA, Jelani Griffin, Anant Kumar Singh, Dulal Senapati, Patsy Rhodes, Kanieshia Mitchell, Brianica Robinson, Eugene Yu, and Paresh Chandra Ray, Chem. Eur. J., 2009, 15, 342-351

Gold Nanoparticle Based Label-Free SERS Probe for Ultrasensitive and Selective Detection of Trinitrotoluene, Samuel S. R. Dasary, Anant Kumar Singh, Dulal Senapati, Hongtao Yu and Paresh Chandra Ray, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 13806–13812

Highly Selective detection of Hg2+ ion using NLO properties of gold nanomaterial, Darbha, G. K., Rai, U. S., Singh, A. K., Ray, P. C., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008,130, 8038-8042

Gold Nanorod Based Sensing of Sequence Specific HIV-1 Virus DNA using Hyper Rayleigh Scattering Spectroscopy, Darbha, G. K., Rai, U. S., Singh, A. K., Ray, P. C., Chem. Eur. J., 2008, 14, 3896-3903