What is inside? How do chemists know what they have?

Presented by Merlin Bruening

This workshop explores the field of analytical chemistry and biochemistry.  We will ask and answer questions such as how do I determine the level of metal contaminants in water?  How big is a molecule and how do I know?  If I make a drug, how do I ascertain its purity.  In particular, we look at recent antibody drugs, which are produced in broths and particularly hard to characterize.  The workshop aims to include hands-on experiments and problem-solving exercises. 

Session 1: Determining metal-ion concentrations and the height of a single layer of molecules.

Session 2: Examining the purity and composition of drugs, particularly antibodies.

About Merlin Bruening

Merlin Bruening is the Donald and Susan Rice Professor of Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame.  He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1989 and received his PhD from the Weizmann Institute of Science (1995), where under the direction of Abraham Shanzer and David Cahen he studied modification of semiconductor surfaces.  His postdoctoral research with Richard Crooks (Texas A&M University) examined the growth of hyperbranched polymer films.  From 1997-2016, Merlin was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at Michigan State University, where he focused on creating ultrathin films for applications in chemical separations and analysis.  In 2016, Merlin joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Notre Dame.  His specific research areas include development of ultrathin films as ion-separation membranes, room-temperature growth of polymer films, and modification of porous membranes for protein purification or digestion prior to mass spectrometry analysis.