2023年10月16日
When dozens of ginkgo trees were planted on Susquehanna’s campus nearly 100 years ago, it was unlikely students could have envisioned how the leaves would be used today. Not only has the distinctive fan-shaped leaf become one of the university’s most enduring symbols, it has also found its way into the 研究 lab.
学生s in Susquehanna’s laser lab are using campus gingko leaves and other natural ingredients such as rosemary and eucalyptus to make extracts to create iron nanoparticles and determine the particle’s ability to generate reactive oxygen — which, 在生物学背景下, 主要是负面影响, ranging from aging to causing genetic mutations. However, reactive oxygen can also be harnessed for other, more beneficial, applications.
Grace Kuhns ’25, a 化学 and 生物医学科学 赛林斯格罗夫的双学位, 还有26岁的里根·凯恩, a 生物医学科学 major from Chapel Hill, 北卡罗莱纳, are specifically using the lasers to determine which nanoparticles are most successful at degrading dyes — a critical step in treating wastewater.
“We illuminate the nanoparticles with a visible laser and measure the reactive oxygen production with a specifically designed detector,库恩斯解释道.
关于激光实验室
浩博体育app’s lasers are located in a specialized 研究 facility that is equipped with a variety of laser systems, said Swarna巴苏, department head and professor of 化学 在萨斯奎哈纳. These lasers emit different wavelengths, 光的强度和色调, allowing students and faculty to tailor their experiments to specific applications.
“用最简单的话来说, a laser is a very powerful light source that has lots of applications, from medical to industrial to 研究,巴苏说.
The lab also contains optical setups, 包括镜子, 镜头, beam splitters and other components to control and manipulate laser beams, which are crucial for directing laser light to the target samples or for conducting experiments, 他说.
Susquehanna students have recently used the laser suite for photodynamic therapy and tissue engineering 研究. So far in Kuhns and Kane’s 研究, iron nanoparticles created using rosemary have yielded the most promising results when measuring their ability to generate reactive oxygen that can degrade dyes.
“I love working in the laser lab,” Kane said. “Everyday Grace and I are working on new things and seeing different types of data. I feel like I am really understanding so much about the world of 化学, and how it works.”
Kuhns hopes to enter the brewing industry after graduation, while Kane is considering medical or graduate school.
“Though my 研究 at first might not seem to relate to my post-grad plans, there are quite a few transferrable skills,库恩斯说. “精密, record-keeping and safe chemical practices I have learned in the lab have greatly improved my aseptic techniques and consistency that will be important for brewing.”