Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials

Contamination of the environment with mercury has been an important concern throughout the world for decades. Human exposure to high Hg levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages.

The achievements of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez PREM were highlighted in the January 25th, 2007 issue of El Nuevo Día (END). This is the largest Puerto Rican newspaper (est. circulation 250,000) and one of the largest Hispanic dailies in the US. The article titled “Fascinated by the Future Made Present” was also incorporated in [...]

UPRM PREM Prof. Carlos Rinaldi who in 2006 received the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award was one of the 20 NSF nominees who received the US government’s highest honor for scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers: The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

The Material Advantage Chapter of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM), founded under the auspice of UPRM PREM, received a spotlight on the October 2007 issue of JOM. This is published by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and is distributed globally. The 2-column spotlight underscores the impact of the UPRM chapter on advancing awareness [...]

In October – December 2007, PREM will bring Strange Matter to Casa Roig Museum Humacao, Puerto Rico.
See more details at prem.uprh.edu

Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (pNIPAM) undergoes a sharp property change in response to a moderate temperature drop. When the polymer is maintained above its lower critical solution temperature (LCST, ~32 °C), most biological cells are observed to adhere. However, below its LCST, confluent cell sheets are found to detach intact–and without the use of harsh treatments usually [...]

We reproduce the recent experimentally discovered odd integer quantum Hall effect in graphene
The bottom image reveals a stripe order and symmetry broken state in higher Dirac Landau levels
Small projects involved in this research are used in a new course taught at CSUN by Dr. Sheng (PHYS 466) for undergraduate students, where [...]

When a spin polarized current passes through a magnetic multilayer structure, it can transfer spin angular momentum from one ferromagnet to another, and hence exert a torque on the magnetic moments of the electrodes. At sufficiently high current densities, this spin transfer torque can even reverse the magnetization of an individual domain.
We predicted an [...]

During its 2007 Annual Meeting held in Orlando, FL (Feb. 25 – March 2) The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) hosted their Technical Division Student Posters Contest. The competition included five technical categories. Two PREM undergraduate students won first prizes their corresponding technical divisions.
José Vázquez: “Comparative Analysis of Processing Routes for the Synthesis and [...]

Myrna Merced Serrano*, José O. Sotero Esteva, UPR-Humacao Robert Johnson**, A.T. Johnson, U. of. Pennsylvania
* Undergraduate Student (sophomore) ** Graduate Student
A FET device made with a single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) decorated with single-strand DNA (ss-DNA) has shown potential for use as a gas sensor.
Using [...]

In February 2007, UPRM PREM hosted more than 140 students, members of the five Materials Science and Engineering clubs formed in public schools under the auspices of PREM. The activity was organized by PREM’s Office of Outreach and Education led by Prof. J. Santos and was partly financed by UPRM Chancellor’s office. It took place [...]

This represents the first nanoparticle-based fluorescence assay for probing single-strand DNA nuclease activity. Our simple assay with extremely high sensitivity will make it widely applicable and highly useful for convenient characterization of DNA/RNA cleavage reactions Given the simplicity, speed, and sensitivity of this approach, the described methodology could easily be extended to a high throughput format and become a new method of choice in HIV proteases and matrix metalloproteases (MMP) as well as the proteins involved in cellular apoptosis

One of the long-standing challenges is the development of organic compounds, which exhibits a large value of the 2PA cross section at wavelength(s) above 700 nm. We have designed a series of D-A Zn-porphyrin aggregates that possess exceptionally large Two Photon Absorption (TPA) cross sections at the desirable fundamental wavelengths of 1.1-1.5 m, which can be highly suitable candidates for the applications in biological imaging and photon dynamic therapy.

Scientists who understand the nature of a stabilizing force between molecules, or between parts of the same molecule, can incorporate this force systematically into the design of new materials. This molecular engineering can result in unique and beneficial stability or functionality. The McCurdy group at CSULA strives to generate new knowledge about a specific stabilizing force in protein-like molecules that will guide the development of materials with useful properties.

Certain antibiotics bind to specific receptors on bacterial cell walls blocking further growth and eventually leading to the bacterial death. Dr. Menake Piyasena (PREM Post-doc fellow) at CSULA has demonstrated a bead-based technique on a microfluidic format that can be used to monitor bacteria-antibiotic interactions. Proof of concept studies utilized a fluorescent dye labeled peptide that resembled the bacterial cell wall and the antibiotic teicoplanin which was covalently immobilized onto magnetic beads. In a microfluidic channel made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), teicoplanin-coated magnetic beads were packed and the binding of injected fluorescent peptide was monitored via fluorescent microscopy. The antibiotic-peptide interaction was further confirmed by flow cytometry and fluorometry. The concept we have developed can be used to monitor bacterial interactions with other drugs and also as a device for pathogen detection.