Biological Physics, Soft-Condensed Matter and X-ray Detector Development The Gruner Lab

1. Biological Physics, Soft-Condensed Matter and X-ray Detector Development The Gruner Lab Department of Physics, Cornell University Pixel Array Detector – We’re using cutting-edge CMOS microchip fabrication to develop a new generation of ultra-fast (μs) and flexible Pixel Array X-ray Detectors. The PAD has already been used for Laue diffraction and imaging the supersonic jet from a fuel injector on sub-microsecond times. Proteins under Pressure – Proteins are nature’s own molecular machines that perform a dizzying array of tasks within every living cell. Their operation is determined by intra and inter-molecular forces that are poorly understood. Pressure has a marked effect on organisms and their proteins (eg. eggs cook at high pressure) because it modifies those basic molecular interactions. We use a host of techniques including Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and protein crystallography at Cornell’s own MacCHESS facility to study the effects of pressure on proteins. These experiments probe the energetics of protein folding, stability, conformational equilibrium and aggregation. These results also contribute to the molecular description of the role of pressure in biology. Pressure effects on Myoglobin (yellow, 1 atm; green, 1500 atm) Visit http://bigbro.biophys.cornell.edu or email Professor Gruner at sol@bigbro.biophys.cornell.edu to find out more More Projects on the Other Side

2. Biological Physics, Soft-Condensed Matter and X-ray Detector Development The Gruner Lab Department of Physics, Cornell University Nanocomposite Self-Assembling MaterialsPolymers can be made to spontaneously form into complicated lattices that should have applications including catalytic films and photonic crystals. We make and manipulate these nanocomposite structures using Block Copolymers and study their properties with X-ray scattering and electron microscopy. CHESSProfessor Sol Gruner is director of the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, a world class X-ray facility located on campus in Ithaca. Group members regularly perform experiments at CHESS and projects are available in Instrumentation, Materials Science, X-ray Physics and Accelerator Physics. In addition, plans are afoot for the Energy Recovery Linac, a revolutionary new type of X-ray light source. Protein-Membrane Interactions - The kinetics and thermodynamics of ion channels and other membrane proteins depends strongly on the membrane they are in. We’re exploring this dependency with two techniques. We use liquid crystals to characterize the properties of various membranes, and then study ion channel dynamics in those same membranes with electrophysiology. Visit http://bigbro.biophys.cornell.edu or email Professor Gruner at sol@bigbro.biophys.cornell.edu to find out more More Projects on the Other Side