University of Texas at Austin

non-tenure-track faculty

Z. worked at University of Texas at Austin as a non-tenure-track faculty

Augsburg College

Associate Professor

Z. worked at Augsburg College as a Associate Professor

Augsburg College

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Z. worked at Augsburg College as a Assistant Professor of Chemistry

University of Puget Sound

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Z. worked at University of Puget Sound as a Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Direct visualization of asymmetric behavior in supported lipid bilayers at the gel-fluid phase transition

Biophysical Journal

Direct visualization of asymmetric behavior in supported lipid bilayers at the gel-fluid phase transition

Biophysical Journal

Dark field transmission electron microscopy as a tool for identifying inorganic nanoparticles in biological matrices.

Analytical chemistry

Dark field transmission electron microscopy has been applied herein to visualize the interactions of inorganic nanomaterials with biological systems. This new application of a known technique addresses a deficiency in status quo visualization techniques. High resolution and low noise images can be acquired to locate and identify crystalline nanoparticles in complex biological matrices. Moreover, through the composition of multiple images taken at different angular beam tilts, it is possible to image a majority of nanoparticles present at a site in dark field mode. This facilitates clarity regarding the internalization of nanomaterials in cellular systems. In addition, comparing dark field images recorded at different angular tilts yields insight into the character of nanoparticle faceting.

Direct visualization of asymmetric behavior in supported lipid bilayers at the gel-fluid phase transition

Biophysical Journal

Dark field transmission electron microscopy as a tool for identifying inorganic nanoparticles in biological matrices.

Analytical chemistry

Dark field transmission electron microscopy has been applied herein to visualize the interactions of inorganic nanomaterials with biological systems. This new application of a known technique addresses a deficiency in status quo visualization techniques. High resolution and low noise images can be acquired to locate and identify crystalline nanoparticles in complex biological matrices. Moreover, through the composition of multiple images taken at different angular beam tilts, it is possible to image a majority of nanoparticles present at a site in dark field mode. This facilitates clarity regarding the internalization of nanomaterials in cellular systems. In addition, comparing dark field images recorded at different angular tilts yields insight into the character of nanoparticle faceting.

Degradation of the electrospun silica nanofiber in a biological medium for primary hippocampal neuron - effect of surface modification.

Dove Medical Press & PubMed

This publication culminated from countless hours of research over 3 years by the biological research team at Concordia University St. Paul and other research partners. It showcased results from my cell viability tests, immunostaining technique, florescent confocal microscope images, and scanning electron microscope images of primary neurons grown on electrospun silica nanofibers. It was an amazing opportunity to help launch biological research at Concordia. We confirmed that surface-modified Silica Nanofibers are not only bio-compatible for cancer cell research and primary neurons, but also discovered these nanofibers are biodegradable creating possibilities for time released drug therapies and tissue regeneration.