Mary Gin's Biomimetic Ion Channels
Steven Poulakos
(poulakos@uiuc.edu)
(not ready to use)
ASK
Unit Keywords
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water, quality, chemistry, ion, channels, NSFSTC |
Rationale of the Unit
| The goal of this Inquiry Unit is to provide a brief introduction to Mary Gin's research in biomimetic ion channels. |
Background and Resources
Mary Gin is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at UIUC. Following a two-year postdoctoral appointment at the University of Illinois, she joined the faculty 1 year ago. Prof. Gin started her faculty work at UIUC exploring a new research area working with organic compounds, which may allow for the controlling of ion channels called, "Biomimetic Ion Channels," to filter what passes through them.
Below are notes from a brief interview with Mary Gin at 1:00pm on Friday, October 12, 2001:
After discussing the Inquiry-based learning, Prof. Gin related her current research to the inquiry process. She said that she is in the process of creating the initial experiments for her ion-channel work. They have theories that they want to test, but they must first successfully create the ion-channels with organic compounds.
Prof. Gin said that she is currently in a cycle of inquiry, which includes asking the following question:
Will this experiment work?
After testing, what happened instead?
What went wrong?
What can be fixed?
Will this new/modified experiment work?
Prof. Gin's research may have far reaching applications in fields such as nanotechnology, water desalination, and biomedical treatment. These applications are possible because the ion channels can function as both a switch and a filter, allowing desired signals or molecular compounds to propogate through the channel. Additionally, these channels may be able to provide sensing functions, which could be used to find contaminents. Electrolytic reduction, light, and chemical activiation through ATP are three possible means of controlling these channels.
Prof. Gin said that her current work may not make for good Inquiry Units because it's difficult to see what is happening. However, she thinks that when they are able to test channels (within a few months), their work will be much more visually oriented. The successful runs will show various spectral changes, many of which will be seen by the naked eye.
If you would like to learn more about her work, I've placed a few of her slides along with accompanying notes within another Inquiry Unit, which may be found here. |
Uploaded Files:
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controllediontrans.ppt
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