Inorganic Chemistry Division

Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry

Research Interests

1. Molecular aggregation and chiral recognition at liquid-iquid interfaces.
2. Control of liquid-iquid interfacial reactions by magnetic fields.
3. Bioparticle analysis using photophoretic forces.
4. Single chemical bonding force detection by electromagnetic buoyancy.
5. Magnetic force mass analysis without ionization.
6. Development of a magneto-optical microscope using pulsed magnetic fields.

Analysis ofliquid-iquid interfaces and nano or microparticles that are relevant to biological systems and environmental chemistry are very important and attractive subjects in Analytical Chemistry. We have invented new methods to investigate the catalytic effects of interfaces on metal complexation reactions and the analytical application of chiral aggregation at liquid-iquid interfaces that have a thickness of only one nanometer. One of our methods includes the formation of a two-phase liquid membrane through centrifugal forces. The reactions at the interface of the liquid-liquid membranes can be characterized using UV-Vis, Raman scattering, and circular dichroism spectroscopies. A second method uses two-phase sheath flow combined with fluorescence microscopy and mass spectrometry. We have invented novel methods for nano and microparticle analysis through the application of light, electromagnetic, and magnetic fields. Photophoresis can separate photo-absorbing from non-photo-absorbing particles, and may be combined with photothermal effects in some cases. Magnetic fields have been used to separate microparticles by magnetophoresis or electromagnetophoresis and to measure the magnetic susceptibility of interfaces of microparticles.

Microscopic CD spectra and single cell binding force measurements.