Research & Publications

Plasmonic photochemistry

Metallic nanoparticles act as nanoscale antennas that amplify and concentrate light in their vicinity. Our research group specializes in harnessing these unique optical properties to enhance and control photochemical processes. To achieve this, we engineer innovative metallic nanoparticle hybrid systems and investigate how their structure, composition, and plasmonic behavior influence light-driven reactivity. We then apply these nanomaterials toward photochemical and antimicrobial applications.

Singlet Oxygen

Singlet oxygen is an excited state of molecular oxygen generated through photosensitization. Due to its short lifetime and highly reactive nature, singlet oxygen acts locally at the site of production, making it an effective tool for targeted antimicrobial applications against pathogens ranging from viruses to bacteria. Our group is interested in harnessing singlet oxygen to address antimicrobial resistance through the development and optimization of new photosensitizers, as well as strategies to enhance singlet oxygen generation and efficacy.

Excited-state modulation

Our research group is interested in understanding and controlling excited-state pathways through unconventional approaches to triplet-state access. Using polymer-based systems, we investigate how polymer composition, thickness, and the incorporation of plasticizers or antiplasticizers influence excited-state behavior and relaxation processes. By establishing fundamental structure–property relationships, our goal is to develop design principles that enable the rational tuning of excited-state dynamics, reducing reliance on trial-and-error approaches in photochemical material design.

publications

[39] Synthetic Access to Benzimidacarbocyanine Dyes to Tailor Their Aggregation Properties.

Roth, SM*; Press, DJ*; Heyne, B; Sutherland, TC. (2021). Synthetic Access to Benzimidacarbocyanine Dyes to Tailor Their Aggregation Properties. Journal of Organic Chemistry. 86(13): 8641–8651. Developing structure–aggregation relationships of cyanine dyes is crucial for controlling their optical properties for various uses. This study develops a synthetic route and the structure-dependent self-assembly of a family of benzimidacarbocyanine dyes for J- or H-aggregation properti

[38] Complex Photophysical Properties of K114 Make for a Versatile Fluorescent Probe for Amyloid Detection.

Stepanchuk, AA; Heyne, B; Stys, PK. (2021). Complex Photophysical Properties of K114 Make for a Versatile Fluorescent Probe for Amyloid Detection. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 12(7): 1273-1280. Protein aggregation is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and many other neurodegenerative disorders. Small organic fluorophores such as Congo Red preferentially bind to cross-β-sheet-rich deposits and have been used to label amyloid plaques and tau tangles in histological samples. H

[37] Influence of Rose Bengal Dimerization on Photosensitization.

Mendes, B.; Kassumeh, S; Aguirre-Soto, A; Pei, Q; Heyne, B; Kochevar, IE. (2021). Influence of Rose Bengal Dimerization on Photosensitization. Photochemistry and Photobiology. 7(4):718-726. Protein crosslinking photosensitized by rose Bengal (RB2- ) has multiple medical applications and understanding the photosensitization mechanism can improve treatment effectiveness. To this end, we investigated the photochemical efficiencies of monomeric RB2- (RBM 2- ) and dimeric RB2- (RB

4 57 8