CBE Seminar: Fluorescence in Self-Assembled Peptide Amphiphile Nanofibers

Abstract: Bioinspired materials are tunable, functional and fascinating. We recently discovered that one widely studied class of bioinspired materials, called peptide amphiphiles (PAs), is intrinsically fluorescent without a fluorescent tag according to the Aggregation Induced Emission (AIE) effect. In this talk we will explore how this discovery (1) adds another exciting function to PAs as a bioinspired sensor and (2) showcases how strategically tuning the molecular design and intermolecular interactions of PAs dramatically increases their intrinsic fluorescence intensity.

Bio: Fowler received her B.E. in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Vanderbilt University and her Ph.D. in molecular engineering at the University of Chicago under the co-advisement of Matthew Tirrell and Juan de Pablo. She is currently an assistant professor of engineering at Harvey Mudd College.

Host: Assistant Professor Herdeline Ardoña