Nonlinear Optical Studies of Polymer, Biomimetic, and Biological Interfaces
This grant studies biological interfaces using advanced laser spectroscopy to analyze molecular structures and interactions for applications in medicine and engineering.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
NRC Research Associateship Programs has archived this opportunity.
Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: February 1, 2025 | May 1, 2025 | August 1, 2025 | November 1, 2025
Funding Amounts: Stipend approximately $82,764 per year plus $3,000 travel allowance; typical appointment duration 2 years.
Summary: Postdoctoral fellowship supporting research on biological and biomimetic interfaces using advanced nonlinear optical spectroscopy at NIST.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens with a Ph.D. earned within the last 5 years; requires contacting the research adviser prior to application; NIST participates in February and August review cycles only.
Description
This postdoctoral research opportunity at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focuses on studying polymer, biomimetic, and biological interfaces using nonlinear optical techniques, particularly vibrationally-resonant sum frequency spectroscopy (VR-SFS). The project employs ultrafast lasers (< 50 femtoseconds) to generate broad-spectrum infrared pulses, enabling acquisition of the entire vibrational spectrum of a sample in a single pulse with ultrafast time resolution. This nonlinear spectroscopy is forbidden in isotropic bulk media but is uniquely sensitive to interfaces, making it ideal for studying surface phenomena.
Current research areas include:
- Structure and kinetics of small molecules interacting with solid-supported biomimetic membranes and vesicles in solution.
- Molecular orientation and kinetic incorporation of membrane-bound enzymes, drugs, and proteins.
- Structure and hybridization kinetics of DNA immobilized on surfaces.
- Peptide signaling sequence structure in cell adhesion, relevant to tissue engineering and implants.
A novel experimental direction involves developing ultraviolet-infrared doubly-resonant sum frequency spectroscopy to enhance sensitivity for measuring secondary structure and amino acid orientation of immobilized proteins at interfaces, with applications in drug design, biomaterials, and biosensors.
The research is interdisciplinary, involving multiple NIST divisions and a variety of interface preparation and characterization techniques. Available resources include several femtosecond and picosecond laser systems covering IR through UV wavelengths, instrumentation for multichannel spectral, spatial, and polarization analyses, and sample characterization tools such as fluorescence, FTIR, Raman, UV/VIS spectroscopies, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and spectroscopic ellipsometry.
Keywords: Biophotonics, Photonics, Biophysics, Molecular structure at interfaces, Nonlinear optics, Multiphoton Spectroscopy, Sum frequency spectroscopy, Surfaces and interfaces, Ultrafast dynamics.
