I am working with my mentor Mr. Sun Tao under guidance of Professor L. Yeung. We are going to find both Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes in Amino Acid. We concentrate more on N-15 which will help in further study of the uptake of Nitrogen in plants and the metabolism of proteins in Human body. We are going to use instruments made by Thermo Fisher Scientific and it called GC Isolink where we use Combustion Mode for analysis of 13C and 15N Isotopes while we can also use HTC mode to find 2H and 18O isotopes .
Our Process: All compounds oxidized in capillary combustion reactor to Carbon dioxide, water and Nitrogen at 1030 centigrade. All NO produce will reduce to N2 by the surplus of Ni/NiO in capillary reactor. We will remove water using permeable polymer capillary.
Further for 15N/14N all carbon dioxide is retained in liquid Nitrogen trap before transfer into Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) through ConfloIV interface.
Today with help of my mentor Mr. Sun we go through various configuration in ISOBAT computer programming while learning on both modes (Operation Mode and Flow Mode) with setting of temperature both in Combustion and HTC Oven while working on Trace GC ultra and also setting samples in Triplus
It’s been a very informative week to say the least. In week 1 we got an overview on how the lab works. Hector, my mentor, showed me how to use the pipettes. Something that apparently is very common in the labs but I had personally had never used. He showed me how to use the pipettes by making sure that they were dry first, knowing how to install the pipettes tips, how to install the caps on the vials with the proper tools.
These vials were then to be placed on a carousel where they tested the water samples for ecoli. All samples are 10ml and cannot have a conductivity higher than 1,100. If they do, they have to be diluted to be able to be tested. On these vials we placed water samples, Sulfuric Acid and DI. The pipettes then needed to be cleaned out with DI water.
On day 3 we were able to visit the site where the CERRO unit that we would be working on is placed. The CERRO unit manager, Luis explained to us how the entire process worked from the water going through the first RO process to the second RO which is the CERRO unit. The high concentrated water that comes from the first RO system is the water that is treated in the CERRO system. However, the site was built in an area where there are constant power outages. To prevent the membranes from fouling, water filters, Dr. Walker proposed us building a spring loaded flush valve that will allow the water to flow with minimum PSI to prevent fouling until the power was started back up.
Friday we got help with the clean up of the lab. Disposing of water samples was easy but anything that had concentrates had to be disposed on a special container and logged in for the company that disposes of it. This took most of the day.
Getting to know my mentors and other lab personnel
Taking a tour of the lab
Exploring the Rice University Campus
Gaining crucial knowledge about Coral Reefs and Symbiodiniaceae by going through the information in Dr. Correa’s BIOL 373/573 Coral Reef Ecosystems Class
Sometimes I take a shortcut through one of the music buildings to get out of the heat when I am walking to/from my car. They are working on a really cool mural!
Did you know that corals are in a mutualistic relationship with organisms called Symbiodiniaceae that help provide corals their color, conduct photosynthesis, and even help to fight off diseases!
These organisms live within the layers of ‘skin’ on coral tentacles! Symbiodiniaceae are more commonly known as zooxanthellae.
” . . . predation by diverse coral-eating (corallivorous) fish species promotes the dispersal of Symbiodiniaceae”
I was able to use a website called CoralNet where I got to practice identifying coral species from a photograph taken at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary located in the Gulf Coast. The program will plot 100 random points and the user then identifies each point as a living coral species, unknown, or dead coral. The program will then calculate the amount of living to dead coral cover. Alex, one of Dr. Correa’s Ph.D candidates, showed me what they call the ‘Frog Wall’ here on Rice University’s campus. The land used to be wetlands that a lot of frogs called home so the builders included this in the buildings architecture to pay homage to those frogs!
I took a lot of notes and watched a lot of videos this week to gain some much needed background knowledge!
Overall it was a good first week and I am looking forward to getting to start working in the lab soon!
This week was all about getting learning about the project, understanding measurements, charts, tables, routines, and so much more! The first two days of the week I spent most of the time reading articles and filling out PowerPoints explaining the purpose of all the perimeters in the project. Once that had been completed I was able to move onto learning how to come up with Theoretical Oxygen Demand!
After going through and finding the Theoretical Oxygen Demand for each of the chemicals being used I then moved onto determining the appropriate weight in mg for 500mL. Once that was done it was on to measuring out/weighting 12 different chemicals on a daily basis.
I really struggled when I had chemicals that only needed 5mg and a what would seem like a single spec would make the scale go up to 10mg immediately. The others in the lab defiantly had a great time watching me the first few days. Once that was all done I took it downstairs to the High bay and mixed it up with Di water and a vortex genie. Next step was to get it all inside the reactor. The reactor is double cylinder one inside another. We put the greywater mixture into the middle cylinder seal the top and apply air pressure so that everything is pressurized. There is a metal aerator like a fish tank bubbler in the bottom of the liquid cylinder that we supply air to while controlling the air rate.
Here you can see the water in the middle cylinder and a little bit of foam.This is how we control the amount of air entering the reactor.This is an example of the foam coming down the outer cylinder where it will collect and form back into water.We have an exit at the bottom of the outer cylinder so that we can collect foam water for testing.
This process takes 90 minutes today from start to finish. We keep track of water level and how long it takes to drop every 50mL. Water samples are collected at the beginning and every 30minutes plus a foam sample and carbon sample from the foam. After all of this is done we test for Ph, conductivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, temp, and chemical oxygen demand. Once all that is done it is inputted into spreadsheets for comparison and clean up is started.
Before this past week, when someone said “Raman” my mind would immediately go to ramen noodles that my son loves to eat. I am working with Dr. Oara Neumann and Mary Bajomo in Naomi Halas lab. The Raman we are working with is an awesome instrument with two lasers source: 785 nm (a near-infrared excitation source that can eliminate sample fluorescence) and 633 nm. We use the Raman instrument to probe the chemical structure in molecules. The probed molecules have a unique set of energy levels that depends on their unique atomic and molecular structure like the mass of atom, the strength of the bond, the conformation, as well as the specific molecular arrangements. The atoms in the molecular arrangement can compress or stretch along the axes of a bond, or can bend symmetrically or asymmetrically; yields vibrations, which occur at a unique frequency. The vibrational modes of a molecule give rise to a spectrum that provides unique information about any molecules. To enhance the Raman signal we are using Au nanoparticles. The technique is called Surface-enhanced Raman scattering and we are using it to identify/determine the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminants in water. PAHs are widespread pollutants that are known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic (meaning they can cause malformations of a fetus during development). There are a few techniques that are used to detect PAHs in drinking water, but they are costly and time consuming. The research being done in Naomi Halas lab will contribute to finding a portable, accurately, and cost-efficient way of detecting PAH’s.
Awesome Raman Spectrometer with microscope
Acquire SERS substrate baseline. The substrate contains: quartz functionalized with PVP (poly vinylin pyridine) and Au nanoparticles.
Add PAHs on the SERS substrate and perform the SERS measurements
Looking forward to week 2! I will get to make and run the samples!! So much to learn!
Fun fact: Did you know they can use Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering to differentiate between Influenza and Covid (both RNA viruses) even at low concentrations.
My first week exceeded my expectations of what the research experience would be like. I was immersed in the culture, jargon, and overall inclusion of the research and the lab. My mentor Alex, did a great job in showing me around, sending me relevant articles to read, assigning me task, and showing me how to use the equipment. I was able to work on both Laser induced graphene and flash joule heating to produce graphene. The experience included basic lab procedures such as mixing, weighing, and grinding as well as new activities I had never done before. By the end of the week I was able to complete my own flash joule heating sample that hopefully made actual graphene. Next week, Alex will teach me how to categorize what we produced by using Raman Spectroscopy and the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Alex and his fellow researchers made me feel welcome and as part of their team. I look forward to continuing to learn the lab methods next week and begin to work on my project in regards to PFAS(Plastic Molecules) in drinking water.
Alex’s Lab Work area- Samples are prepared for Flashing
Flash Joule Heating area: sample is placed in vacuum then flashed in milliseconds
SEM needs special training and passcode to use…intense
Hi, my name is Najma Bano. Currently, I am teaching at Lanier Middle School since last 10 years and overall this is my 19th year of teaching. My first few years of teaching were in Pakistan. Then I moved to Arizona, California and finally to Houston, TX. I have taught Math, Science and Biology to 5th -9th grade. I will be teaching IPC/Science to 8th grade classes in the following school year.
I love to travel, sing and do Glass Art. I have taken student tours to Japan, England, Paris and Italy. Heres my recent glass painting.
My RET Team at BRC:
PI: Dr. Jeffery Hartgerink, Bioengineering Lab Rice University Mentor: Carson Cole, Ph.D Grad Bioengineering Lab Rice University Building: Bioscience Research Collaborative, Rm # 320
Project Title: Design and Synthesis of the Peptides Which self-assemble to form Hydrogels.
The first week was great! Our project manager Joe gave us a warm welcome and invited us to eat steak as our first meal together 😄
Then we got right to work, visited the pilot site and collected my first samples. Then we started testing them. Tests include pH, alkalinity, dissolved solids, etc. We have to make sure the pilot is working fine and that the results stay consistent. Today, we did some cleaning around the lab and we were treated to pizza. So far its been a very productive week and I am excited to learn more!
