Monthly Talk Series
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Abstract:
DNA is a programmable building block for sequence-encoded nanomaterials whose structure-property relationships are governed by Nature’s base pairing rules. This talk focuses on using DNA as a template for a new class of fluorophores: atomically precise and programmable metal nanoclusters with promise for addressing challenges in biophotonics. We use DNA oligomers to template the chemical synthesis of atomically precise silver nanoclusters (Ag-DNAs), which come in a diversity of bright, sequence-selected fluorescence colors. While Ag-DNAs hold promise for bioimaging and biosensing, their structure-property relationships have remained elusive, hindering their promise for biomedicine. By combining high-throughput experiments and machine learning models with analytical studies of single nanocluster species, we showed how nucleobase sequence selects the structures and colors of Ag-DNAs. This approach enables the design of new DNA template sequences for Ag-DNAs that emit light in the near-infrared tissue transparency window, a key area of need for bioimaging. Finally, I will discuss how we are using native mass spectrometry and circular dichroism spectroscopy to advance understanding of Ag-DNA chemistry. Our discovery of a new class of Ag-DNAs with halide ligands has recently enabled the first electronic structure calculations for Ag-DNAs and presents new opportunities to expand these emitters for biophotonics applications.
DNA is a programmable building block for sequence-encoded nanomaterials whose structure-property relationships are governed by Nature’s base pairing rules. This talk focuses on using DNA as a template for a new class of fluorophores: atomically precise and programmable metal nanoclusters with promise for addressing challenges in biophotonics. We use DNA oligomers to template the chemical synthesis of atomically precise silver nanoclusters (Ag-DNAs), which come in a diversity of bright, sequence-selected fluorescence colors. While Ag-DNAs hold promise for bioimaging and biosensing, their structure-property relationships have remained elusive, hindering their promise for biomedicine. By combining high-throughput experiments and machine learning models with analytical studies of single nanocluster species, we showed how nucleobase sequence selects the structures and colors of Ag-DNAs. This approach enables the design of new DNA template sequences for Ag-DNAs that emit light in the near-infrared tissue transparency window, a key area of need for bioimaging. Finally, I will discuss how we are using native mass spectrometry and circular dichroism spectroscopy to advance understanding of Ag-DNA chemistry. Our discovery of a new class of Ag-DNAs with halide ligands has recently enabled the first electronic structure calculations for Ag-DNAs and presents new opportunities to expand these emitters for biophotonics applications.
Biography:
Stacy Copp is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, with joint appointments in Physics and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Copp received a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Arizona (2011) and a PhD in Physics from UC Santa Barbara (2016). She held a Hoffman Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship and L'Oreal USA for Women in Science Fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory, before joining UC Irvine in 2019. At UC Irvine, she leads the Molecular Nanomaterials Lab, whose mission is to harness DNA and synthetic block polymers as programmable building blocks for nanoscale materials. Copp has pioneered machine learning approaches to DNA nanomaterials design, including the discovery of DNA-templated silver nanoclusters with sequence-selected atomic sizes and fluorescence colors. Her research has been recognized by recent awards such as the Hellman Faculty Fellowship, Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, UC Irvine School of Engineering Early Career Research Excellence Award, and the Samueli Faculty Development Chair.
Irvine Ranch Water District makes its facilities available for use by residents and nonprofit organizations merely as a public service, but does not, by allowing this use, endorse or support the purpose of the event or its sponsor.
Stacy Copp is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, with joint appointments in Physics and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Copp received a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Arizona (2011) and a PhD in Physics from UC Santa Barbara (2016). She held a Hoffman Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship and L'Oreal USA for Women in Science Fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory, before joining UC Irvine in 2019. At UC Irvine, she leads the Molecular Nanomaterials Lab, whose mission is to harness DNA and synthetic block polymers as programmable building blocks for nanoscale materials. Copp has pioneered machine learning approaches to DNA nanomaterials design, including the discovery of DNA-templated silver nanoclusters with sequence-selected atomic sizes and fluorescence colors. Her research has been recognized by recent awards such as the Hellman Faculty Fellowship, Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, UC Irvine School of Engineering Early Career Research Excellence Award, and the Samueli Faculty Development Chair.
Irvine Ranch Water District makes its facilities available for use by residents and nonprofit organizations merely as a public service, but does not, by allowing this use, endorse or support the purpose of the event or its sponsor.
