The Ionomics facility measures the amount of 32 metal ions in specimens from plants and animals. The ‘ionome’ is an indicator of health, disease and response to the environment.

The Purdue ionomics information management system (PiiMS), developed at Discovery Park, is the most accessed tool of its kind.

FacultyDavid Salt (Horticulture)Ahmed Elmagarmid (Cyber Center)Joe Pekny (eEnterprise Center) Ivan Baxter (Bindley Bioscience Center)

EquipmentInductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

Cancer biomarker data is obtained from mass- spectrometry-based proteomics studies. The Bindley Bioscience team, as part of a National Cancer Institute-funded consortium, is evaluating cancer biomarker technology for use by clinicians. Follow-on research will valid identified biomarkers in breast and prostate cancer.

FacultyFred Regnier (Chemistry)Jiri Adamec (Metabolomics and Proteomics)Expert faculty in informatics and proteomics from IUSOM, IU Bloomington and U. Louisville.

Equipment Multi-dimensional liquid chromatography quadrule mass spectrometry, matrix assisted laser desorptive ionization mass spectrometry, BioCD for label-free multiplexed biomarker immunoassays.

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

Cell fusing is a growing research technology that is vital in studying stem cells, creating clones and finding disease antibodies. Here, researchers run tests on a microfluidic chip that fuses cells.

FacultyChang Lu (Agricultural and Biological Engineering)

(Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

Plants may sense gravity through a process that develops a bioelectric field within plant cells. Purdue faculty are testing a new type of biosensor capable of measuring ion currents in a reduced gravity environment. The MISA chip — Microfluidic Ion Sensor Array — is a collection of sensors that detect ion motion in very small volumes.

FacultyMarshall Porterfield (Agricultural and Biological Engineering)

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

Researchers use a laser and computer monitor to observe scatter patterns in a petri dish. This technique may provide cost-cutting applications for medicine, food processing and homeland security.

FacultyArun Bhunia (food microbiology)

(Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

This transmitter, three times the width of a human hair, is designed to predict epileptic seizures. Implanted below the scalp, the transmitter can detect the signs of a seizure before it occurs. The system records neural signals relayed by electrodes at various points in the brain.

FacultyPedro Irazoqui (Biomedical Engineering)

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

Current avian flu vaccines for humans are effective only against specific strains of the illness. Researchers are investigating the use of a harmless virus, called an adenovirus, as a delivery vehicle to develop vaccines that provide protection even as influenza strains mutate.

FacultySuresh Mittal (Pharmaceutical Sciences)

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

Bindley Bioscience Center researchers examine the development of biomarkers in fish that have been exposed to chemicals and contaminants (i.e., herbicides). Results can show how humans might adversely react to the same chemicals.

FacultyJiri Adamec (Metabolomics and Proteomics)Maria Sepulveda (Forestry and Natural Resources)

EquipmentMass spectrometry, gas chromatography

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

Citrus juices enable more of green tea's unique antioxidants to remain after simulated digestion.The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins, naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea. Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb.

FacultyMario Ferruzzi (Food Science)

EquipmentMetabolite profiling facility

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

The major surface protein of a West Nile virus particle is composed of three domains, color-coded pink, yellow and blue. The proteins self-assemble in a host cell, forming a well-organized geometric shape. Knowledge of the proteins' structure could help scientists in the effort to develop antiviral agents.

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park

The BioCD enables label-free detection of biomolecular interactions in a fast, inexpensive and highly sensitive format. The technology utilizes interferometry (essentially reflected light) to detect changes in height of biomolecule arrays printed on a reflective surface.

This technology spawned the company Quadraspec in Purdue Research Park that is producing BioCD products for veterinary diagnosis. Four active research grants with Quadraspec are underway in the Bindley Center to move the technology into human diagnostic applications.

FacultyFred Regnier (Chemistry)David Nolte (Physics)

Bioscience Research in Discovery Park