Condensed Phases Laser Spectroscopy Laboratory

We are interested in the study of the guest-host interaction in the condensed phases, in particular the molecular recognition and the structural dynamics in biological systems. Specifically , we have introduced the satellite hole (SH) spectroscopy to the study of dye-DNA interaction during the last few years. R ecently, we have combined different optical method and bio-techniques to investigate the ligand-DNA binding structure and mechanism, particularly in t elomer es , for the anti-tumor drug development. Currently activates involve :

Investigation of dye-DNA interaction by using vibration spectra l methods to probe the binding site between chromophore and DNA and electronic spectra to distinguish various DNA conformational structures, particularly the t elomeric DNA.

Investigation of the correlation among antituomr drugs, telomere and telomerase by measuring telomerase IC 50 for activity, competition dialysis for selectivity, spectroscopic study for binding structure .

Monitoring the folding and unfolding of quadruplex structure, tracing the pathway of drug delivery and probing drug-target interaction by using single molecule microscopy and spectroscopy.

Design and synthesis new compounds for antitumor agents and fluorescence biomarkers .

Development bio-analytic methods for the diagnosis of cancer cells.

Investigation of energy transfer and charge separation for better understanding of energy conversion , and design and synthesis useful compounds for artificial photosynthetic systems.